The New Normal
by Carlet
Summary: Takes place immediately after season 2 premiere. What happens to Emma after the curse is broken? Seems like any other story but its really not.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: So this is just a story I'm trying out after watching the season 2 premiere. Btw the title has nothing to do with the TV show. I just thought it'd fit the story well. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Get that into your head. **

Chapter 1

A loud crash resonated throughout the room. Emma looked up at the nurse, who was staring, shocked, at the window.

"Hey. Are you okay?" She asked, walking towards the shaken nurse, who seemed to be in a trance.

In response, the nurse pointed out the window, where a massive purple cloud was forming and heading rapidly towards the town.

"What's that?" Henry, who joined them at the window, asked.

"Don't know." Emma murmured. "But it doesn't look good."

In seconds, the purple cloud has consumed the town. Nothing in the town below the hospital could be seen. Emma hugged Henry close and buried her face in Henry's hair as the purple cloud encompasses them, shielding everything from view.

Slowly, the cloud receded. Emma looked up, blinking several times as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. The cloud had left the air hazy and thick, and purple wisps from the cloud hung around in midair.

Her attention was brought to the window as she heard shouts from outside. She crossed the room and looked out the window. Big crowds of people had begun to congregate outside.

"Come on, let's go outside!" Henry dashed out the open door and rapidly down the stairs, his excitement palpable.

"Hey! Kid! Hold on!" Emma shouted as she chased after Henry. But of course, Henry ignored her and continued full speed outside.

"We need to find your parents!" Henry called over his shoulder.

At that word, Emma stopped short. Parents. She'd known all day that the Mary Margaret and David she knew, her roommate and her roommate's boyfriend, were her parents, but had pushed that thought to the back of her mind as saving Henry took precedence. _Her parents. _Whom she'd been searching for 28 years. Wondering, cursing, hating, and above all, needing.

Her mind on autopilot, she ran out of the hospital doors, barely noticing the clumps of people scattered around her. Everyone's emotions seemed to be on full speed as they embraced each other and cried openly. Some called out for missing relatives. Ordinarily, Emma would have stopped to help, as she was still technically the sheriff, but the word parents resonated in her head like the loud and annoying beat of a drum.

_Henry. Find Henry first._ Emma decided as she pushed her way through the crowds of people. She could deal with everything else later. She looked around, standing on her tiptoes. Thankfully, Henry was fairly easy to spot. With a sigh of relief, she headed towards her son. She was so busy trying to avoid an angry looking mob that she didn't notice who Henry was talking to.

"Henry. I told you not to run off." She scolded, but then stopped as she noticed Henry smirking at something behind her. "What are you looking at?" She turned around, exasperated.

She gasped inwardly as she saw Snow and James walking rapidly towards her. Shit. She'd been counting on the fact that her parents would be too busy helping others (because that was what they did best) to find her. That she'd have some time to compose herself and prepare what she would say to them. But that was obviously not the case.

Snow approached Emma first, her eyes already brimming with tears that threatened to spill down her pale cheeks at moment. Tentatively, she reached out and touched Emma's cheek, seemingly unsure if her daughter was real or not. She then wrapped Emma in a tight hug, and James followed suit.

Emma stood there in her parents embrace, breathing in her roommate's familiar scent (the only thing that seemed familiar today), unsure what to do. On one hand, she was overwhelmingly happy that she'd found her parents finally. It was something that every foster kid had hoped for, that desire hadn't gone away as Emma grew up. In fact, it'd intensified. But on the other hand, she was unable to look past the fact that were her same age and above all, had abandoned her. She sniffled, trying to hold in her tumultuous emotions. Twenty eight years worth of loneliness, abandonment, and hate intermixed with the day's confusion swirled in her mind, rendering her speechless.

After about an eternity, her parents released her, their eyes shining with pride and love. It was something that Emma had wanted all her life, but now it just made her uncomfortable. She looked down, trying to bite back the sarcastic comment that was forming on her lips.

Henry, who'd picked up on Emma's distress, spoke up. "Can we go home now? I'm tired."

Emma looked up gratefully. "I'll take you home." She placed her arm around Henry and started down the street towards her apartment.

"We'll come with you." James said as they followed. Shit. Emma had forgotten that this awkward situation was just going to follow them home, especially now that James was bound to move in with them, but anything was better than just standing there on the street.

Back in her and Mary Margaret's (she still had a hard time thinking of her roommate as Snow White) apartment, Henry, who'd forgotten that he was supposed to be tired, immediately bounced over to the TV. Emma hung up her jacket and sighed heavily. Out of all the ways she'd imagined her first meeting with her parents, this was definitely not what she'd wanted.

The door opened again as Snow and James stepped inside. Great. The apartment, already cozy to begin with, felt ten times more crowded than usual. Suddenly, her parent's presence was overwhelmingly suffocating. She needed some air. Pulling on her jacket again, she mumbled something about needing to pick up stuff from work as she grabbed her keys and slammed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Oh wow within the first couple hours of posting this, I got a whole bunch of lovely reviews. So thank you very much and here's another chapter. Stayed up late to finish it and everything. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Yep. **

Chapter 2

Instead of heading down to the station, Emma's feet found themselves pointed in the direction of Granny's. Of course. It was how she'd dealt with her problems in the past. Drinking. It was probably the cause of many things that'd happened in her life. Jail, exes, and probably even Henry.

"Emma. What can I get you?" Granny asked as Emma slipped into the stool at the counter.

"Something strong. And keep it coming."

Granny nodded and reached behind to grab a bottle. As Emma reached into her pocket for her wallet, Granny waved it away.

"It's on the house. The least I can do after what you did." A confused look must have crossed Emma's face, because Granny clarified, "You, know, the curse." The happiness in her eyes was evident.

"Right." Emma nodded, a sinking feeling rising in her chest. The very thing she'd been trying to forget about. She took a huge gulp from the glass Granny set before her. It burned her throat and made her eyes water, but a couple more and she'd forget all about the day's events.

Six glasses and three shots later, Emma stumbled clumsily outside, where there were still clusters of partying people. She stepped around them, nearly colliding with a group of loud partiers. Her foggy mind barely registered the stark contrast between them. While most everybody in Storybrooke was celebrating the end of the curse, she was drinking herself into oblivion, alone and completely miserable.

Emma was about to head back to the apartment and pass out until next year when she remembered her excuse for leaving. Knowing that Mary Margaret would try to (s)mother her, she decided to go down to the station and grab some papers to make it look like she'd actually gone to work.

The quiet of the station, a stark contrast to the noisy partiers outside, temporarily dulled the throbbing in Emma's head. Her eyes blinked, adjusting to the darkness of the room. Then, she heard a creak to her left. And another, and another. Through her blurry vision, she could just barely make out a figure's broad shape near her desk. She shook her head. It was probably just from the alcohol. Emma reached over to flip the switch when suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

**Author's note: Yes, I know that this ch's hella short. It's mostly a filler, leading up to the events in the next ch**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: So I decided that for every chapter I finish writing, I'll post another one. Just finished writing ch 5 so here's a new chapter. And holy crap that last Once episode was amazing! A really sad ending tho...**

**Disclaimer: Guess who has two thumbs and still doesn't own anything. Yep, this girl. **

Chapter 3

Emma's senses immediately heightened. Although she was still very drunk, her instincts took over. Using all the training she'd gotten through years of living with creepy foster families, she grabbed the arm of her assailant and flipped them upside down to the ground. With one hand, she flipped on the light and reached into her belt for her gun, quickly switching off the safety and aiming it at the intruder.

"You have thirty seconds to explain before I arrest you for trespassing." Emma snapped, instantly going into sheriff mode. Her vision spun violently and her hands shook, but she managed to remain in control.

"Emma?"

No. It couldn't be. That voice immediately brought back memories, memories of Granny's, darts, hearts, wolves, and most recently, heartbreak.

Shakily, she sank against the wall. No. It was just her mind playing tricks on her. Alcohol had the tendency to do that. Even after many years, she was still a lightweight, especially when it came to scotch.

"Y-you're supposed to be dead." Emma stammered, hating the way her voice wavered. She kept her gun aimed at his heart.

He stood up slowly, raising his arms above his head in surrender. He didn't say anything, but gave her one of his annoyingly hot looks. God, how she'd missed him.

Was this another one of Regina's tricks designed to screw with her? On her way home, she'd overheard that the purple cloud was magic, and she knew that Regina was very mad about her breaking the curse and Henry choosing her.

"You're supposed to be dead." She repeated, fighting to keep her voice steady. She took slow, even steps toward him. "Explain. Now."

"I-I don't know." Graham stammered. "All I know is that several hours ago, I woke up here." He looked so confused that Emma lowered her gun.

Sensing that her walls were down, Graham stepped closer to her. His hand reached out and touched her cheek, similar to what Snow had done hours ago. Without meaning to, Emma found herself leaning into his touch. She'd really missed him.

Slowly, he pressed his lips against hers. His lips were warm and soft, and his woodsy scent made her feel more relaxed than she'd been in ages. She began to forget all about the day's events, lost in the passion of their kiss.

Soon, her jacket found its way onto the floor, as well as Graham's shirt. His hands were on her hips, working their way down towards her zipper while trying to ease them down onto the floor simultaneously.

Suddenly, Emma pulled away, startled. What was she doing? For all she knew, she was kissing a dead guy who was most likely part of one of Regina's grand plans to bring her down. She shoved him away with both hands, appalled at her loss of control.

Graham looked up at her. The confusion and hurt were apparent on his face. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that I'm kissing someone who's supposed to be dead!" She exploded. "Is this one of Regina's traps? Cause God knows there's been enough of _those!" _

"I already told you. I don't know…"Graham began to explain patiently, but he was cut off.

"I'm so sick of you people!" She continued, starting to pace angrily around the small space. "First I find out that my parents abandoned me because of an evil curse," Emma laughed drunkenly. "And now apparently there's _magic _and dead guy comes back. I must have had wayyy too many drinks." She slurred.

Emma stumbled sideways, and felt a rush of vomit coming up as the world began to spin. The last thing she saw before blacking out was Graham leaping forward to catch her as she hit the ground, hard.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time. You know that, right? **

Chapter 4

"Do you think she hates us?" Snow asked her husband that evening. They were cuddled together on the couch, while Henry watched TV at their feet.

"Nah." James replied. "She's probably just overwhelmed." It was something they had been telling themselves all day to rationalize Emma's strange behavior. "I mean, if you think about it, it's bound to be awkward."

"I just wish that she would have given us a chance to explain. Explain why we did what we did." Snow sighed, voicing her thoughts aloud.

"To protect her." James finished.

"Yeah, but what if she doesn't get that. What if she just blames us for everything?" Snow began to ramble. "For everything that went wrong in her life. Which, if you think about it, was our fault."

"Stop." James said. "There's no use stressing about it now. Let's just wait until she gets back."

But Snow ignored him. "And she's been gone for so long. It's almost midnight. What if she's in trouble? She crossed the room towards the window, lifting back the curtain and peeking out, as if she could see Emma in the darkness.

"Snow, she's 28." James pointed out. "She's not a child anymore." But there was a note of worry in his voice. After all, she was his daughter.

"I know." Snow released the curtain. Just then, there was an urgent knock on the door.

"I'll get that." James stood up and started towards the door. All day, they'd been receiving calls and visits from desperate people trying to reach their loved ones. According to some people who'd come by earlier, magic was already wreaking havoc on Storybrooke. It seemed like James and Snow had slipped right back into the leader roles they'd had back in their past lives.

Expecting a worried citizen, he plastered on a welcoming smile and threw open the door. "How may I help…?" He started to say for the hundredth time of the day. But instead of a frazzled looking person, it was Graham. And in his arms was an unconscious Emma.

Instantly, James slipped into father mode, something he didn't even know he knew how to do. "What happened?"

Overhearing the distress in her husband's voice, Snow immediately crossed the room towards the open door. She gasped when she saw Emma, a gut wrenching feeling growing inside. Neither of them registered that Graham was supposed to be dead, as their unconscious daughter took precedence.

"Hey. Graham, you're back!" Henry, who'd joined his grandparents at the door, said in surprise. Of course, everyone ignored him.

"Here, her room's this way." Snow led the way to Emma's room, and Graham followed obediently. He laid her down carefully on her unmade bed, and pulled the covers over her prone body. Then, feeling embarrassed because Snow was watching with a smile, he kissed her forehead gently before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

"What happened?" James repeated his question again, crossing his arms over his chest. It was obvious that he was trying to act like a good father. Henry bit back a giggle as he watched the exchange between the supposed to be dead sheriff who was very obviously in love with his mother and his grandfather who was trying to pull the overprotective dad act.

"We were at the station, and she was really drunk and collapsed." Graham answered, his voice laced with worry.

"What were you doing at the station?" James asked sternly. He had a million things to say but decided to hold them back until Snow couldn't hear. He didn't really need to be called an overprotective hypocrite.

"Oh, lay off him." Snow told her husband, rolling her eyes. "Like you said earlier, Emma's 28. She can take care of herself." She turned to Graham. "Why are you back?"

"I don't know. I just woke up on the floor of the station. But I heard some people say that magic is causing some problems. Maybe it undid my death?" Graham guessed.

Snow nodded and smiled at Graham. "Makes sense. Thanks for bringing her back."

Graham nodded. "No problem. Let me know if she wakes up or anything."

"I'll walk you out." James said, his tone leaving no room for protest. Graham followed obediently towards the door, while Snow went back to send Henry to bed.

Once Snow was out of earshot, James began his speech. "Listen, carefully Hunstman." He started. "Emma's my only daughter. I know I've missed out on a lot of her life, but that doesn't mean that I don't love and care for her any less."

"I know." Graham nodded. But James wasn't finished.

"You brought her home so drunk she passed out. I don't know what you were doing, and I don't think I want to know. But you need to know that if you hurt her in any way, I will make you pay. Is that understood?" He said, leaning into the younger man.

"Yes." Graham said simply. James stared at him for a long moment. Suddenly, a thought dawned on him.

"You love her." He realized slowly.

Graham nodded again. He didn't even bother to deny it, for it was overwhelmingly clear from the way he looked at her.

James didn't know whether to be happy or not about this revelation. On one hand, he knew from his past life as Charming that Graham was a genuinely good guy, from the way he'd spared Snow's life to how he helped him escape Regina's castle. But on the other hand, from everything Emma had told Snow, which Snow had then told him earlier that evening, Emma had had a hard life, full of disappointment and heartache. She really didn't need any more of that. But then again, it didn't matter if he approved of Graham dating Emma or not. It wasn't like Emma was a teenager he could control.

"Okay." James said simply. He opened the door. "Thanks for bringing her home."

**Author's note: The idea of James trying to act like an overprotective father to Emma was so ridiculous I had to put it in**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: As promised, I'd post a ch for every ch I finish writing. So here's another one**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a draft of a college essay that I should really be working on instead of this. Oh well...**

Chapter 5

The first things Emma felt the next morning were her splitting headache and nausea. Thankfully someone had closed the curtains, blocking out the bright glare from the sun that would surely entice a colorful array of curse words from her dry mouth.

_Coffee. I need coffee. _She thought. She stumbled clumsily out of bed, leaning against the wall for balance. Briefly, she wondered who'd taken off her jacket and boots and tucked her into bed right now, but her head was pounding like a bass drum and didn't leave much room for thoughts. She was so out of it that she didn't notice the glass of water and huge bottle of Advil on the nightstand.

"Why's it so bright in here?" She grumbled as she made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a huge ass cup of coffee, shielding her eyes from the sun that was coming in through the open window in the kitchen.

"Someone's finally up." Her roommate (Emma didn't know whether to think of her as Mary Margaret, Snow, or Mom) commented. Emma jumped, not expecting anyone to be there. Usually at this time her roommate was already out, for she was an early riser while Emma was the opposite. She turned around and saw her parents and Henry, seated at the table with a huge breakfast laid out.

"Why don't you join us?" James/Charming/David/her dad suggested.

Emma merely grunted in response and sipped her coffee, glaring out with red rimmed eyes.

"Emma's not really a morning person." Mary Margaret answered for her. As Emma threw back two Advil, she tried to hide her annoyance that her roommate knew her so well and spoke for her like, well, a mother would. It occurred to her that if it weren't for the revelation last night this exchange wouldn't bother her at all.

"How did I get back here last night?" She asked no one in particular. "The last thing I remember was passing out at the station."

"Graham brought you back." Her mother replied, a knowing smile on her face. At the mention of Graham, James's face darkened, but he remained silent.

At the mention of Graham, Emma suddenly felt worse. She put down her coffee cup and started to massage her throbbing temples. Memories of last night came flooding back in bright clarity. She shut her eyes, trying to block them out.

Just then, her phone buzzed on the kitchen counter. Emma leaned over to read the caller ID and groaned loudly. "Ugh. Speak of the devil."

"What's wrong?" Mary Margaret asked, instantly concerned. Emma ignored her as she grabbed her vibrating cell and walked down the hall for some privacy, away from the prying eyes of Mary Margaret, James, and Henry.

"Hello?"

"Hey." His thick accent spoke through the phone. "Just wanted to see how you're doing."

God, how she loved that voice. It made her want to curl up with him and breathe in his woodsy scent. It made her long for the feel of his arms around her and his lips on hers. Above all, it made her knees weak, her head spin, and feelings stir inside, feelings she hadn't felt for about 11 years. And that was scaring him senseless.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts. No. This was not the time to be thinking about that. She reminded herself that every time she fell in love, she only ended up heartbroken.

"I'm good." She said brusquely, trying to keep her tone diplomatic.

"Want to grab some breakfast, um brunch now I guess, at Granny's?" He suggested hopefully.

Emma was about to decline when it occurred to her that it would be a great time to set him straight, to tell that him that last night was nothing but a mistake.

"Sure. See you there in twenty." She hung up the phone, feeling as if she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life.

Emma reached Granny's relatively quickly, heavily dreading each step she took. When she reached the doors, she saw Graham already sitting at a booth, two mugs in front of him. Without looking, she knew that one of the mugs was hot chocolate with cinnamon, her favorite. He really was sweet. Which was exactly why she needed to do this.

She took a deep breath, and then pushed open the glass doors. Graham spotted her immediately and waved her over, a cheery smile on his face.

"Hey." He said. "You're just in time to order. So you like grilled cheese right…?" He was cut off.

"I'm not here to stay." Emma said as she wrung her hands under the table. God, why was this so hard? She'd never had any trouble doing this in the past.

"Oh." Graham cocked his head to side adorably. "Why not? Too hungover?" He teased.

Emma ignored him. "Look, I'm just going to say this once. Last night was…a mistake." She began, casting her eyes down to avoid looking at Graham's eyes, which were slowly filling with confusion.

"But…" He started to protest, but she cut him off again.

"I was drunk." She stated.

"No, but…"

"Which is why I kissed you. That's all." She finished, getting up to leave.

Graham shook his head petulantly. He grabbed her hand in his, stopping her. "Emma." He said firmly. "Look at me."

Emma kept her eyes down. If she looked at him she would start crying. And that could not happen.

"Look at me. Look at me and tell me that you feel nothing for me. That everything that happened last night and before the curse was broken was nothing." He repeated. She looked up, struggling to keep her face placid.

"It was nothing."

Graham looked stunned, but he released her hand. "All right." He turned towards the window and sipped his coffee.

Emma stood up and strode quickly towards the exit. She was grateful that her back was turned, so he wouldn't see the tears beginning to make their way down her cheeks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Soooo I'm getting really sick of finding clever ways to tell you that I don't own Once. By now you should really know that. So for the last time, ever, I. Do. Not. Own. Once. Upon. A. Time. End of story, goodbye, the end. **

Chapter 6

Whenever Emma closed her eyes, all she was able to see was the hurt look Graham had given her when she told him that she felt nothing for him. Why was this happening?

It didn't help that Graham was always over at the station. Because Emma had taken over his old job as sheriff, he now helped Ruby, who'd formed a committee to help Storybrooke citizens locate missing loved ones, sort out their jobs, etc. As a result, he was always at the station, filing missing people reports and stuff like that. Every time Emma saw him, she kept her eyes down and spoke to him as little as possible. However, he didn't seem to get the message. He constantly tried to talk to her, to continue the flirty banter that they'd shared when he was sheriff. It was as if he was completely disregarding what she'd told him at Granny's. It was something Emma just didn't get. In the past, men she broke up with simply disappeared from her life. They didn't stick around and try to win her back. But Graham? He was the exact opposite. Always inviting her out to lunch and trying to make conversation, even if it was just about the weather.

Another thing that bugged her were Mary Margaret and David's (ok, she still couldn't think of them as Snow and James, much less her parents!) attempts at family bonding. Henry was all for it, probably because he'd know for ages about the curse. But for Emma, this was just plain awkward.

"Emma? Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Mary Margaret asked one morning. She was standing at the stove, frying eggs while Henry was already on his way to school and David seated at the table reading the paper. Emma was on her way out, pulling on her coat and sheriff's badge as she reached for her keys on the kitchen counter. For the last two weeks, she had been trying to avoid her parents as much as possible.

"No, I'm late." She answered brusquely. Of course, she wasn't actually late, but it was a handy excuse she'd been using for a while.

"I'm sure all those reports and investigations could wait an hour." Mary Margaret said with a smile that didn't leave much room for negotiation. She nudged Emma towards the table. "Sit. A nice breakfast with your family wouldn't hurt."

Ugh. Emma cringed inwardly at the word family. It was the last word she'd use to describe Mary Margaret and David.

Emma sat down slowly, perched on the edge of the chair. She'd left her coat on, ready to leave at any moment. David looked up and smiled at her awkwardly.

"Morning." He said.

Emma merely nodded. She was in no mood for forced pleasantries.

"Really cold weather we're having." He commented nervously.

Emma nodded again, causing David to hide behind his newspaper. She looked around, hoping for a way out of this. She was just about to fake an urgent call from the station when Mary Margaret set a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast in front her, along with a mug of hot chocolate. Damn. All her favorites. Now she'd look like an ungrateful bitch if she left.

"Here you go. Now eat up while it's still hot." Her mother said as she sat down. Emma rolled her eyes at Mary Margaret's attempts at sounding like a mother. It was beyond ridiculous.

"So, tell us Emma, what did you do before you came here?" Mary Margaret asked as she sipped her coffee.

"Uh, I was a bail bondsman." Emma said with a heavy load of duh in her voice. "I already told you that before."

"Oh. Right." Her roommate blushed.

There was an awkward silence.

Suddenly, Mary Margaret couldn't take it anymore. She slammed down her fork. Emma looked up, alarmed while David put down the paper.

"We need to talk." Her mother said.

_Here we go. _Emma thought. They were gonna tell her all about how they loved her, only sent her away to give her the best chance possible, etc. All this shit she already knew and didn't want to hear. It hurt too much.

"What about?" Emma asked, though she already knew.

"We're finally together, something I know you've been wanting for ages, because you told me, er Mary Margaret, whatever." Her roommate stumbled over her multiple identities. Emma winced inwardly at this reference to their former friendship.

"So?"

"So, as a mother, I can sense that you're not all that happy about it. Why?" Snow/Mary Margaret stared at her daughter, intrigued.

"You can tell us. We won't be mad." James/David added, trying to sound like a sympathetic father. Maybe it would work on other people, but for her, it just sounded stupid.

Suddenly, Emma felt like the room was spinning. The breakfast she'd eaten churned violently in her stomach, threatening to come back up. There was no way in hell she was gonna talk to them. They'd officially known each other as family for such a short time. They had no right to be acting like parents.

Emma pushed back her chair. "Thanks for breakfast." She said as she rushed out the door

And so it went on like this for the next several weeks. Mary Margaret and David tried multiple times to get to know their daughter, while Emma became very skilled at avoiding them and their awkward questions. Each day, she grew more and more miserable, as she was forced to spend long hours at the station just to steer clear of her parents.

She also had to avoid Graham, which was no easy feat. As each day passed, he became more and more determined to win her back. One day, he brought even had flowers delivered to her. It was sweet, really, but Emma knew from experience that the sweetest men would often turn to be the cruelest too.

So, the person she spent the most time with now was Henry, for he was the one thing that hadn't changed. While everything in her life in Storybrooke had pretty much flip flopped after the curse had broken (even Regina hadn't bothered her in a while; no one had really seen her after the curse was broken and she sure didn't put up a fight about Henry), Henry was the one constant.

"Why aren't you home anymore?" Henry asked one day as she was driving him to school, which she used as an excuse to avoid breakfast with Mary Margaret and David.

"What do you mean, kid?" Emma murmured as she kept her eyes on the road. She of course knew exactly what Henry was talking about.

"You know what I mean." He answered. "You never stay for breakfast and you're never home for dinner. There can't be _that _much work to do every day."

Emma ignored him.

"You aren't just trying to avoid your parents, are you?" He asked, suddenly concerned. "Are you mad at them for sending you away? They were just trying to…"

"Give me my best change, I know." She finished. It was a phrase she'd heard too many times, something Mary Margaret and David had tried to explain to her before but she'd merely brushed them off, not wanting to hear it.

"Yeah. So why are you ignoring them? They're trying their best, you know." He fiddled with his backpack. "To get to know you."

"I know." She said absently.

"It wasn't their fault. It was the evil queen's curse that caused this."

Emma sighed. She didn't need to hear this again. "I know, Henry."

"Then why don't you come home for once? Try and actually talk to them. They're your parents. They're what you've been looking for your whole life. We can be a family together. Me, you, and your parents."

Suddenly, something in Emma shifted. The one thing she was counting on, the one sane thing in this whole mess, was driving her crazy. She drove rapidly the rest of the way to Henry's school. Screw the speed limits. She was the sheriff. What was she going to do, give herself a ticket?

Henry opened the door to her yellow bug. "Thanks for the ride." He turned to go, but then paused. "At least give them a chance. They love you, you know."

Because she'd left so quickly she had no time to grab breakfast, so she drove to Granny's to pick up something before heading to the station. She stepped inside the now very familiar diner, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of Storybrooke citizens chatting happily and eating their breakfasts. At least this place was unchanged by the aftermaths of the curse.

_Oops. Spoke too soon_. She thought, annoyed. The moment she walked inside, she could feel everyone's stares and hear the hushed whispers.

"Gave her up when she was a baby." Somebody hissed.

"Put her through wardrobe."

"Don't they love her?"

"Did it…save everyone."

"No wonder…always alone."

The whispers came faster and faster, making Emma's head spin. Suddenly, Granny's seemed unbearable. Without bothering to pick up her food, she strode out quickly and back into her car.

Emma put her head in her hands. She was so, so, so sick of this. All of the looks, the whispers, and the gossip. In a roundabout way, she'd gotten everything she'd ever wanted. A family. But not in the way she'd imagined. Instead of a wonderful, heartfelt reunion, she'd found out that her parents were fairy tale characters. FAIRY TALE CHARACTERS! And about her age. It was something that was truly unbelievable.

There was just no way she could deal with that. She'd lived for 28 years without parents, so she could live a thousand more without them. As for Henry, yes, she'd let him in after a while. But he was different. He didn't come with the constant reminder that she'd been abandoned, all because her parents had wanted to save her from an evil queen's curse. Evil queens. Curses. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't wrap her head around this new reality. This "new normal". While everyone else in Storybrooke (even Henry) had seemingly adapted fairly well to the aftermaths of the curse, she obviously hadn't.

Just the way everyone looked at her gave her the creeps. Yes, they'd been overly grateful about her breaking the curse (which she still didn't quite get how she'd done that), but underneath all that, they looked and treated her like she was an alien. Which, in a way, she was. She wasn't from their world. She didn't know about magic or anything from fairy tale world. She was an outsider, even in her family. Something she'd been all her life. Emma laughed at the irony of this. Here she was, back with the people that she should've felt like she belonged with more than anything, and yet she couldn't feel more isolated.

Which was exactly why she was leaving, going back to Boston. At least there, she was supposed to be a loner. It was how she'd established herself among her colleagues and neighbors. And there, she wouldn't have to face the people that had abandoned a helpless infant all in the name of saving others.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Thank you so much for all the reviews and follows! Wasn't planning on updating twice in one day, but since y'all r so nice here's another chapter. **

Chapter 7

Emma drove rapidly back to her apartment. Earlier, she'd gone to the station and dropped off her badge and resignation letter. Someone would undoubtedly find it eventually. She parked the car and crept silently upstairs. Most likely Mary Margaret and David were out helping people (because that was what they did best), so she didn't really have a reason to sneak around. Still, on the off chance that they came back, she decided to be extra quiet. The last thing she needed was to run into them. She didn't need them to give her the speech about how they loved her and wanted her to stay, etc.

She packed as quickly as she could. Luckily, she hadn't brought that much to Storybrooke to begin with. She'd been meaning to, but never got around to it. Most of her stuff was still in her old apartment in Boston. It was as if her subconscious knew that Storybrooke wasn't a permanent option for her.

Zipping up the last suitcase, Emma took one last look at the room she'd called home for the last several months. It looked really sad now that the bed was stripped and her perpetual mess was gone from the floor. She dropped off her keys on the kitchen counter, leaving a note that simply said: I'm leaving. Need some space and time to get used to all of this. Don't call me I'll call you. Tell Henry I'm sorry.

Yes, it was a rather harsh note, but she wanted to make a clean break.

She stepped outside into the cold morning air, and began loading her stuff into the trunk of her yellow bug. Because she was so messy, there was a bunch of junk in the trunk that made it really hard to pack in her suitcases. Emma sighed, pulling out everything that was piled in the trunk. This could take a while. Briefly, she wondered about what would happen if someone saw her. They would probably tell her parents, who'd come running back to stop her. She laughed at this ridiculousness. She was afraid of her parents, who were her age and probably physically weaker. Well, at least Mary Margaret was.

Grabbing an armload of old magazines that she had no idea what they were doing in her car, she dumped them onto the sidewalk and bent down, attempting to stack them neatly when she saw a pair of black boots appear in her line of vision.

"Emma?"

Dammit it was him. Slowly, she stood back up, dusting off her hands on her jeans. "Hi." She winced, hating the way her voice shook. She looked around, making sure her eyes didn't land on his.

"What are you doing?" Graham asked.

"What does it look like?" She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Cleaning out my car."

"No. I meant with all those." He gestured at the suitcases and duffel bags strewn around her car. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah." She answered simply. What was the point of denying it? "So if you excuse me, I have lots to do." She reached for one of the suitcases, but he blocked her way.

"Why?"

It was a simple word that usually required a simple answer. But not in this case. She couldn't find the words to explain, so she just shrugged.

"None of your business." Emma said casually, hoping Graham would just leave her alone. She really wasn't in the mood for this. She tried to reach her stuff again, but he stepped in front of it.

"Not funny." She said, shoving him aside and grabbing the handle of her luggage.

"Emma." He stopped her, grabbing her wrist like he did that night in the station. "Why. Are. You. Leaving."

She ignored him, shaking off his grip roughly. He watched helplessly as she threw the rest of her stuff in her car and slammed the door shut.

"Are you just gonna stand there? I wouldn't want to run you over." Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"No…but…" He struggled to find the right words. "What I'm trying to say is..."

"What?" Emma crossed her arms over her chest impatiently. When he didn't say anything, she sighed. "I have to go. I don't need this right now." She turned to get into her car, but he grabbed her hand stopping her yet again.

"But Emma…" He began. "I love…"

She yanked her hand away as if he'd burned her. "Don't say that." She snapped harshly.

"Why?"

"B-because. It's not that simple." Emma answered. She looked down, hating the way her voice shook.

"Why not?" He asked, genuinely confused. "I know exactly how I feel about you."

"No, it's just…" She didn't really know what to say. Graham had that effect on her. There was just something about his adorably cocky grin and charming accent...

"Emma. You're gonna have to learn how to trust people. To trust that not everyone's gonna hurt you." He said softly.

Wow. He'd known her for such a short time yet he'd managed to read her perfectly. Managed to break down her walls. He was good.

"I know you." He continued. "I know that you've been hurt before, and pretty badly too. You're afraid to let anyone in. But you need to know that I would never hurt you, Emma. I love you."

There. He'd said it. The l word was a 4 letter word to her. That word brought back horrible memories. Memories of abandonment, fear, and above all, loneliness.

Without realizing it, she brought her hand back and slapped him. Hard.

"Fuck off." She said, wheeling around and getting into her car.

Emma's last view of Storybrooke was Graham, standing in the middle of the road, crushed.

**Author's note: Don't worry. It won't stay sad for long. **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Regina watched in grim satisfaction as Emma's yellow bug drove down the street, towards the Storybrooke exit. It was something she'd been wanting for ages. Now, she'd finally have her son back.

She couldn't understand why Henry was so attached to Emma. Yes, she was his birth mother but so what? Emma wasn't the one who'd changed his diapers, cared for him every time he was sick, and given him everything he'd ever wanted. She'd given him up for adoption, for heaven's sake. Didn't that count for anything?

But no worries. Now that she was gone, her life would go back exactly the way it was supposed to be. After all, she was Regina. The (evil) queen. She held Storybrooke in the palm of her hand. Even though the curse was broken, she knew that everyone still feared her, based on the looks they cast at her house. Yes, she'd been lying low for the past several weeks. After Rumple brought magic back, she needed to practice using it again. It'd been so long and she was so rusty.

But not anymore. She had regained full control of her powers, and it was time to let everyone know who the boss was around here.

And the first thing she was gonna do was take revenge. Regina knew that Emma would be back. She'd developed such a strong connection with Henry; she wouldn't be able to stay away for long. And when she did come back, Regina would make damn well sure that Emma Swan paid for all the damage she'd caused.

**Author's note: Yes, I do realize that this chapter is way short. But get over it. I have college apps to work on. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Seven weeks. That's how long Emma had been back in Boston. Seven weeks passed without any word from Henry, Graham, Mary Margaret, or David. Not a single call, text, or email. It was kind of strange. She'd thought that they'd come banging down her door in no time, demanding to know why she'd left. (Well except for Graham. She figured she'd hurt him enough to keep him away permanently.) But no, they'd actually respected her wishes.

Emma tried to go back to her old life as a bail bondsman. But it wasn't easy. She'd forgotten how, well, _lonely_ it'd been. How lonely she'd been. For several months in Storybrooke, she'd actually had friends and a place that she called home. Her apartment in Boston, while it was nice and had a great view, was too empty. She missed the cozy apartment she'd shared with Mary Margaret. She missed so many things about Storybrooke. Henry, Granny's, Red, her job as sheriff, Mary Margaret (before the curse was broken), and even her conflicts with Regina.

Above all, she missed Graham. It was a new feeling, actually missing people. Her whole life, she'd been such a loner she could count one hand how many people she'd truly cared for. Over the years, so called friends had faded away with promises to call or write but of course never did. So eventually Emma built up those walls that didn't let anyone in. She began to keep to herself. There had only been one other person to break down those walls surrounding her heart. But he'd ended up breaking her heart almost beyond repair. And from then on she'd vowed to never let anyone get that close to her again.

Mary Margaret and Henry had almost managed to break down those walls. (Well, and _him_ too but she promised herself that she wouldn't think about him anymore.) Ironically, the first person she'd truly considered her best friend had been her mother, only she hadn't known it at the time.

Emma felt the slightest hint of guilt about leaving Henry behind. She knew her son would be crushed, especially because he had this hope that they could all become a happy family now that the curse was broken. She'd wanted that too, but it was just too painful to think about. About how her parents had abandoned her. Had they truly wanted to give her the best life possible, or were they just doing the "right thing" by sacrificing their newborn daughters just to save others? It was a question that made Emma's head spin with confusion.

She wanted to believe that her parents truly loved her. After all, it was what every foster kid wanted. Based on the multitude of times they'd tried to bond with her despite her insistent refusal, she could tell that they did. Or at least felt bad for what they'd done to her life. For a second, she almost regretted leaving Storybrooke so abruptly. Maybe if she'd stayed they could have worked things out.

No. Emma shook her head, ridding herself of these thoughts. Thinking about the past would only bring misery and above all, regret, two feelings she'd promised herself long ago that she would never allow herself to feel. Two feelings that she'd long banished from her emotional vocabulary.

She would just have to tell herself that she made the right choice, even if it sure as hell didn't feel that way right now.

~The New Normal~

After another long day at work, Emma went back to her empty apartment. Even though it was almost two months ago, she still found herself missing Mary Margaret's. The way there was always laughter and music there, and the delicious smells of her former roommate's cooking. It didn't help that Emma was a terrible cook.

She sighed as she opened the fridge. It was empty, save for a moldy looking yogurt and some butter. Hardly suitable material for dinner. She would just go straight to bed but she'd hardly eaten anything all day. Great. Time to go grocery shopping, something she particularly hated. Maybe it had something to do with all the families that were there together, while she was always alone.

Luckily, the store was mostly empty. Good. The one thing she hated more than seeing happy families together while she was alone was standing in seemingly endless lines. She quickly gathered a few staples. Bread, milk, eggs, bananas. That only left cereal. Emma quickly located the last box of her favorite cereal, which had to be on the tallest shelf in the damned store. Great. As if this day couldn't get any worse. She was reaching, stretching, straining on her tip toes to reach that box when suddenly another hand grabbed it.

Her anger instantly intensified. Who the fuck did they think they were, grabbing that box that was rightfully hers? She turned around, fully ready to bitch them out. That was when she saw who it was.

Neal.

**Author's note: Don't you just love it when a ch ends with a cliffhanger? :P**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Emma stood frozen, rooted to the spot, rendered unable to speak at the sight of her ex, the man who'd she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. Who'd made her happy for the first time in her life, but then picked up her heart and smashed it to pieces. Who'd gotten her sent to jail and gotten her pregnant. Who was probably the cause of the awful mess she'd left behind in Storybrooke. The whole reason she was so unhappy right now.

"Here." Neal handed her the box of cereal, but she ignored it, choosing instead to stand there, arms crossed glaring at him.

"Why?" She asked. It was a question she'd been dying to ask him for ages. Why had he turned her in to the cops? Why had he said he loved her but then abandoned her? Why, why, why, why, why?

"Um, you looked like you were having a little trouble reaching it?" He cocked his head to the side adorably.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." Emma said her voice dangerously low. She was about two seconds away from punching his face in. Her heart pounded so fast she was afraid she'd give herself a heart attack and she dimly registered that she was standing in attack mode, ready to fight or flight at any moment, something she'd developed after years of living with abusive foster families.

He didn't say anything, so Emma just snatched the box of cereal and turned around to leave. She had to get up early the next day and didn't really have time for this. Neal was just a no good dirty thief, just like she'd been. Except that she'd actually done the time for her crimes, whereas he was probably still living off petty crimes. She clucked her tongue at his expensive jacket and watch. He'd probably turned her in to save his own ass so he could keep the money from the watches.

"Em, wait." He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off, visibly shuddering at his use of her old nickname.

"Fuck off." She hissed, not unlike what'd she said to Graham that last day in Storybrooke. But unlike Graham, Neal was insistent.

"Just listen to me." He urged.

Emma spun around and in a matter of seconds, pinned him against one of the shelves, sending a row of cans flying everywhere.

"Why. Why should I listen to you after all you've done to me?" She said in his ear, her voice thick with fury. "You give me one reason, Neal."

Neal seemed to visibly collapse. Suddenly, he looked about ten years older, and guilt was written into his face.

"It's a long story." He answered, looking down at her strong grip on his coat. "Which I can tell you if you let me go."

Emma thought about her choices for a moment. If she let him go, he could just run away. As a thief, he would be in pretty good shape. If she kept him pinned against the shelf, he might attack her, which would not good. She decided to let him go. Besides, she was in pretty good shape. She better be anyway, after months of being sheriff and running after Henry.

Slowly, she released him. "All right. Go ahead. Explain." She said, her eyes cold as a snake's.

"Why don't we go somewhere a little less public?" He suggested, but Emma was not budging.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She shoved him, hard. "You honestly think I'm going to go anywhere with _you_?" She said "you" the same one way would say tarantula.

"I meant like Starbucks." He said, perplexed at her defensiveness.

"Right." Emma ducked her head. "Let's go then. I have work tomorrow."

**Author's note: If ya want me to update faster, then ya better review**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Emma followed him to the Starbucks across the street, where they found seats pretty quickly. At her insistence, they got a booth towards the back, away from the window, so he wouldn't be able to able to make a quick escape.

"All right. Go. Explain." Emma crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be." Neal began.

"Got that right." She snorted. Neal ignored her. He started playing with a straw wrapper, clearly at a loss for words.

"That day you were going to pawn the watches, I was chased by someone."

"Who? A cop?" Emma was all sarcasm. "Oh boo hoo."

"No. He introduced himself as August."

Suddenly, Emma was intrigued. What did August have to do with this? She leaned forward and began to listen to his story.

Neal launched into a tale about how August explained about the curse, showing him a fairy, and had basically coerced him into turning Emma into the cops. She grew angrier and angrier as he went on. Throughout the story, Emma noticed that he averted his eyes, choosing instead to focus on the worn table and the straw wrapper in his hand.

"And so he gave me a choice. Turn you in or let you stay with me." He finished.

"Why did you do it?" Emma's voice was guarded. "If you loved me so much like you said, why turn me in? Why not let me stay with you?" Her voice grew louder and louder. "Do you know how I felt when the cops came? How it felt to be abandoned by the one person I thought loved me? Who promised that we could build a new life together? It was the first time in my life I was happy, and you _ruined _that, Neal." Her eyes shined with unshed tears.

"Emma. Believe me. It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do in my life. I loved you so much. But I knew that it was the right thing to do. I couldn't let you live a thief's life. Even though I knew it meant it would make your life miserable for a while, it was the right thing to do. To give you your best chance possible."

There it was again. That phrase "give you your best chance possible." The same thing that her parents and Henry had told her.

"Em." He grabbed her hand, and surprisingly she didn't recoil in disgust. "I'm so, so sorry about everything. But believe me, I never wanted to turn you in. I never wanted to leave you. But I had to. I loved you so much I wanted your life to be better than mine could ever be."

She nodded. His words made sense. In a way, he had given her a better life for a while. Storybrooke was like a dream come true. She'd had friends that she loved enough to call family (funny thing was they actually were family), a great job, and Henry. Her heart squeezed with longing at the thought of everyone she'd left behind. Yes, she was mad at August for taking away the one thing that'd made her happy, but that didn't matter anymore.

"You did give me a better life, but only for a while." She replied.

"What?" Neal was confused. Emma began to explain the aftermaths of the curse and everything that led up to her leaving and coming back to Boston.

"I ruined everything," Emma finished. "I had a great chance for finally having a family but I ruined it. I left because I couldn't handle everything."

"Emma," He said softly. "You didn't ruin everything. They still love you and want nothing more than for you to go back."

"How do you even know that?"

"August." Neal answered simply.

She nodded. Made sense. They'd been communicating for so long.

"I didn't just go through all that just for you to give up." Neal continued. "You can still go back and make things right with your family."

He was right, of course. Emma knew that her parents were insanely forgiving, just like Henry. It was probably something that'd skipped a generation.

"But that's not all." She said, taking a sip of her now cold coffee. "I ruined things with someone else too."

"Someone who loves you, huh?" He asked. "I can see by that look in your eyes."

Emma was amazed that he could still read her so well. "Yeah." She said her voice thick.

"So all the more reason to go back." He insisted. "You can still fix things before it's too late."

"One more thing," She continued. "You have a son." She prepared for his gasp and inevitably his anger that she'd kept Henry away for so long, but he merely shrugged.

"I know." He said simply.

Wait what? "How…" Then the answer came to her. "August." Emma realized.

"Yeah. Told ya we were still talking."

"Do you want to meet him?" She asked, hoping he'd say no. She'd already told Henry a fake story about how his "noble father" had died, and she didn't want her son to hate her for lying.

"Nah." Neal waved his hand. "He's better off without me. Look at me. I'm no father."

Emma nodded. She stood up, and he did as well, pulling on his coat. He wrapped her in a tight hug. "I've never stopped loving you, Emma."

She nodded, tears pooling in her eyes. She knew that, of course, by the way he looked at her. But her love for him had died the moment she was arrested. The moment in which she knew that she'd been abandoned. Again.

"Thank you for everything." She said, breathing in his familiar scent. It brought back memories, but they no longer hurt as much as they did before.

They parted ways. Emma knew she'd never see him again, but that didn't matter. Somehow she knew that he'd be keeping an eye on her through August.

**Author's note: I know a lot of people hate Neal and want Emma to beat him up. Believe me, I feel the same way. But this story is an Emma/Graham, which is the main focus. So all I did was give the Neal issue closure so eventually Emma'll be able to let Graham in. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. **

Chapter 12

Emma briefly considered selling her apartment in Boston so there would be no way she could leave Storybrooke again without being homeless, but then she realized that if something went wrong again, she'd need that living space. So she kept it, but did not intend to go back.

On the drive to Storybrooke, she was struck with memories about her first journey there. How Henry had sat in the passenger's seat, flipping through his book of fairy tales, telling her that she was in the book. She remembered the first time she'd seen Henry, how she'd almost called the cops on him. How similar he and Neal looked, which had shocked her so badly she could barely breathe. How she'd intended to drop Henry off and then go back to her lonely life, but ended up staying in Storybrooke and enjoying herself.

The closer she got to Storybrooke, the faster her heart started to pound. What if they were mad that she'd left? The first time Emma had tried to leave with Henry, Mary Margaret had scolded her, similar to how a mother would, but she of course she hadn't realized it at the time. What if they were so mad they'd refused to let her in? Emma didn't think she could handle that. Going back was already a big step for her emotionally, and if they refused her she didn't know what would do.

Emma tried to plan out what she'd say to explain why she'd left. But explaining herself was never her strongest feat. So she just gave up, figuring she could play it by ear.

She reached Storybrooke much too fast, for she'd driven straight there and had only stopped once for gas. Driving down the achingly familiar streets, she was glad to see that everything appeared relatively the same as she'd left it 2 months ago. Emma had been afraid that once she'd left, all hell would break loose.

Emma parked her car in its usual spot in front of Mary Margaret's apartment. Through the curtains, she could see the faint outlines of her parents and her son, bathed in a warm glow. She could even smell, just barely, Mary Margaret's cooking which made her stomach rumble.

_I could still go back to Boston_. She thought as she stared up at the window, the only barrier between her and her happy family. From the outside, they looked like a perfect family. Father, mother, and son. Emma didn't fit into their cozy little set up. Henry was probably better off with Mary Margaret and David, who would be much better parents than she could ever be. They could offer him a better life. Funny thing was, they were about her age so it wouldn't really be that big of a stretch.

But then she thought about all the sacrifices Neal had made, just to bring her here. Where she belonged. With her family. He too, had given up the thing he loved most, all in the name of giving her the life she'd yearned for all those years as a lonely foster kid. So no. She most definitely could not back down now.

Emma stepped up to the door and raised her fist to it, knocking on the wood once, twice, three times. As she heard footsteps approaching, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for what was to come.

The door swung open, and Mary Margaret gasped in surprise. "Emma?" Her eyes instantly filled with tears. "You're back." She gasped, wrapping her daughter in a tight hug.

Tears Emma didn't even know she had pooling in her eyes spilled down her cheeks as she hugged her mother back, breathing in her comforting scent. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her.

"Mom!" Henry sprinted towards her. "You came back!"

"Yeah, kid." Emma sniffled as she hugged her son. "I'm back." Henry's use of the word Mom made her cry even harder.

As Henry slowly released her, Emma looked up at David, who too was crying.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, meaning it. They'd been nothing but nice to her after the curse was broken and she'd repaid them by leaving.

"Welcome back." He said, embracing her tightly. Mary Margaret hugged her from behind, as did Henry. And so they all just stood there, hugging and crying and laughing. It was the best day of Emma's life.

**Author's note: NOT the ending! Y'all should know by now that I NEVER like to end with a happy ending. So there's a lot that's yet to come...**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

(Takes place while Emma goes into Mary Margaret's apartment)

Regina watched in fury from her car as Emma's yellow bug rolled slowly into its usual parking spot. For weeks, she'd kept watch on Snow's apartment. And for almost two months, that damned yellow bug had been absent, its spot empty. Regina had almost let herself believe that Emma Swan was gone for good, and that her life would go back to the way it was supposed to. Even Henry had began to talk to her again and stayed with her one night a week.

But no. Emma had to come back, just like Regina had predicted. It made Regina so mad she could barely breathe. Who did this bitch think she was, just marching back in here and taking her son away again?

No. Regina couldn't just Emma take control again. She smiled to herself. It was a cruel, sardonic smile that would send chills into anyone who saw it. Regina still had her revenge plan, which she now fully planned to use.

**Author's note: Filler, obvi. A huge clue into what'll come next...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: Since the last ch was so short, here's another one. **

Chapter 14

Two weeks. That's how long Emma had been staying in Storybrooke (for the second time). Two weeks and she still hadn't left. It was quite an accomplishment for her. She'd thought that she'd be forced to leave again after a day or two, but she found herself actually enjoying her parent's company.

She, Mary Margaret, and David (she kept calling them that because calling her parents Snow White and Prince James would just be weird) had agreed to just be friends for now. It was the best solution for everyone, since they'd started out as friends before the curse was broken and it would just be awkward for them to start parenting her. Of course, that didn't stop Mary Margaret from trying to feed Emma whenever she could, and for David to try and make her wear a coat. But this didn't bother Emma as much as she'd thought it would.

She'd explained why she'd left, and her parents had understood. They'd apologized profusely for everything and surprisingly Emma had forgiven them. Of course, this hadn't changed the fact that their actions had caused her to be alone all her life, but they were trying to make up for it. And so in a weird way, Emma was ok with it. At least they were making an effort. It was more than she could say for her old foster parents, even ones that she'd lived with for more than five years. Everyone in Storybrooke had welcomed her back warmly, saying how much they'd missed her. Emma was amazed at how much she'd grown to love this town and its inhabitants.

There was only one thing that bugged her now. After she went back to Storybrooke, she'd taken over her old job as sheriff, which she'd enjoyed more than she'd ever liked being a bail bondsman. David had taken over the job in her absence (he explained something about how it would let him help more people or whatever) but was thankfully more than willing to give it back to her. But there was the matter of Graham, who David had hired as deputy.

According to her family, after Emma had rejected Graham and left town, Graham had retreated back into a shell, only talking to people for work and spent more time drinking then necessary. In short, Emma had crushed him.

He barely spoke to her, or even looked at her at work. She'd tried to apologize and explain, but he'd ignored her. The one time she did catch his eye, all she saw was emptiness and abandonment. It was the same look that had been in her eye all those years ago in jail.

She didn't know it would hurt this much to be ignored by him. Just the mere sight of Graham made her heart squeeze with longing and regret. She hadn't realized how much she'd truly loved him. She'd been wrong to reject him. There was about a thousand if only's that came into play here. If only she hadn't slapped him. If only she hadn't rejected him. If only she'd let him in. If only, if only, if only.

But that was in the past. Graham was in the past. She'd vowed not to think about that anymore. From now on, her main focus would be getting to know her family, which was the reason she'd gone back.

**Author's note: More filler to tie up loose ends, so now the story can focus on Emma/Graham. **


	15. Chapter 15

**If you read this ch carefully, you'll find clues leading up to the events in the next ch...**

Chapter 15

Through her binoculars, Regina watched him leave his apartment. 7 am just like every morning. She made a note on her notepad. For the past several days, she'd been meticulously tracking his schedule. Her notes revealed the extent to which she was determined to succeed. It had every little detail about his daily habits, such as when he went out for coffee, took a walk, and went to bed. It listed the most important detail. When he would be the most vulnerable.

Her revenge plan required a crazy amount of precision in order to be enacted. Failure was not an option, for she quickly found that her magical abilities were very limited here in Storybrooke and that with every time she used magic she tired more and more quickly. Pretty soon, she wouldn't be able to use magic anymore. This plan would probably be the last time she'd ever be able to use magic, but it was for a good cause.

**Author's note: This ch was intentionally short. It's mostly just a filler leading up to the next ch which I promise is super exciting. Sooooo review if u want the next ch up asap! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: The next ch might not be up till next wk. So enjoy this one and review!**

Chapter 16

Ever since she'd returned to Storybrooke, things at the station had been busier and busier with each passing day. Now that the curse was broken, it seemed like there was more crime (mostly burglaries) because people were no longer living under a spell that kept them like frozen robots. Before the curse was broken, the pile of paperwork on Emma's desk remained very thin. But now, there was so much that the pile was precariously balanced on the edge of her desk. The slightest movement could send the papers and folders flying everywhere.

At least Graham was still doing his job (mostly paperwork), despite the fact that he still wasn't talking to her. That helped a lot. Still, Emma found herself staying late nights at the station, doing nothing but paperwork. It sucked even worse because a lot of those late nights were with Graham, where there were tense and awkward silences. Every time she saw him, all she wanted to do was kiss him. To reiterate how sorry she was. But judging by the stiff way he held himself and his short and brusque answers to her questions, she knew that this was clearly out of the question.

One night, Graham had gone out to get coffee from Granny's, as the huge ass pile of folders on Emma's desk meant another all nighter. Emma stayed behind, working as fast as she could. Now that she was on good terms with her family, she actually wanted to spend time with them.

She heard footsteps approach her office. Figuring it was Graham, she kept working, her pen flying furiously.

"Hey. That was fast." She looked up with what she hoped was a friendly smile.

Her smile instantly died as she saw Grahams's eyes, which were as cold as a snake's, and his mouth, which was twisted into an ugly sneer.

"Are you ok?" Figuring he was just still mad at her, she kept working.

"You ruined my life." He said slowly, in a cold voice she didn't even know he had.

"What?" She put down her pen.

"You. Ruined. My. Life." He repeated. His fists were clenched at his sides.

Emma sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I know. And I'm sorry. So, so sorry. You told me you loved me, and I treated you horribly."

Slowly, Graham advanced towards her, cracking his knuckles as he walked. "You're going to pay for what you did."

"I…huh?" Emma was confused. Why was he suddenly so mad about how she'd rejected him?

"You're. Going. To. Pay." He said slowly. He loomed over her, reaching for her desk lamp. "NOW."

Fear pooled in Emma's stomach as she stared at Graham's eyes, which looked murderous. "Graham? What are you doing?" Her voice shook as she realized what was going on. She sensed what he was about to do a split second before it actually happened. Time seemed to slow down as he swung the lamp at her head, narrowly missing her head. She ducked down just in time, and the lamp collided with the chair. Graham grunted in frustration as she crawled rapidly under the desk and onto the other side, her heart pounding.

Emma stood up and faced Graham, who wheeled around and reached for her throat. She backed away in fear.

"Graham? What's going on?" She repeated. She continued to back up, gasping as she reached the wall. She looked around frantically for an escape, but there were none.

"You need to pay." He repeated zombie style, pinning her against the wall with his body. His hands clasped around her throat and he squeezed. Emma flailed, trying to shake him off but it was no use. It was hopeless. She was going to die.

He squeezed harder and harder, sweat breaking out in exertion. Emma's vision clouded, and she felt her muscles grow weaker. She felt herself stop struggling and her body grow limp as she began to black out. Through her foggy mind, she thought she heard Graham say, "You stole my son. You need to die." But that was probably just the lack of oxygen speaking. Emma closed her eyes, preparing for her death, when heard Henry's voice in her mind.

_I love you Mom_. It such a simple sentence, yet when he'd said it last night as she tucked him into bed it'd made her feel so happy.

_I love you too Henry_. She thought. _I'm so, so sorry about this._ All Emma could hope for was that after she died, her family would find out the truth. She didn't want them thinking that she'd left again.

Suddenly, determination flooded inside. She couldn't die. Not like this. Not when she'd finally gotten her family back.

With strength she didn't even know she still had, she brought her knee up to Graham's crotch. Hard. He instantly released her neck, grunting in pain. Emma collapsed against the wall, coughing and gasping for air.

Through her still blurry vision, she saw Graham pick up a large paperweight. Knowing that he was going to throw it at her, she slid away just in time. It crashed against the window, leaving shards of broken glass behind. Emma stood up shakily, determined to not die. She grabbed a lamp and threw it at him, but lack of air made her aim way off and it landed three feet from where Graham stood.

He just looked at it, clucking his tongue. "So pathetic." He mocked.

Her adrenaline intensified as he launched himself at her again, only this time she was prepared for him, throwing in punches as fast as she could. Her fists made contact with his body again and again, but he was very perseverant to kill her as he matched every one of her punches with three of of his.

Emma managed to throw him off, her body aching with pain. From the way any slight movement hurt like hell, she deduced that her ribs were mostly likely broken. She reached up to wipe off the blood from her busted lip. He looked no better, for she'd broken his nose with a well aimed punch. She was distracted, looking for something to use as a weapon, for she knew that without one her broken body wouldn't last for long. He was so much stronger than her. And that's when it happened. He slammed into her full force. She was no match for his strength, and so she fell backwards, her head colliding painfully with the sharp corner of her desk.

_That's going to leave a mark_. Emma thought dizzily as she landed on the ground. She knew without reaching up that her head was bleeding, and judging by the way her head spun, she knew she had a concussion. A pretty bad one too. Disoriented, she fumbled in her pocket, trying to find her cell. Maybe she could call for backup, since Graham looked occupied with something. He was rooting around her desk, seemingly searching for something. With some effort, she located her phone. Emma was about to dial 911 when she heard the click of a gun.

"No." She gasped weakly as he aimed the gun at her.

"Good bye, Emma Swan." He said in a cruel voice as he prepared to pull the trigger. There was a loud BANG. White hot pain pooled in her chest, and the last thing she saw before succumbing to the mind numbing pain was Graham's sardonic smirk.

**Author's note: Want the next ch? Review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews! When I said review I didn't expect to get like 13 within the first 2 hours of updating :) So here's another ch, posted way sooner than I originally planned to update.**

Chapter 17

Graham opened his eyes. His head spun dizzily as he adjusted to his surroundings. He blinked, confused. What was he doing at the station? The last thing he remembered was leaving Granny's with two cups of coffee and some donuts, fumbling around for his car keys and trying to balance the coffee and pastries. Dropping the keys, and then bending down to retrieve them from the icy pavement.

As his vision cleared up, he looked around. What'd happened to this place? The once immaculately neat station (for someone who kept her car so messy, Emma was pretty OCD about neatness at work) looked like a wreck. Chairs were strewn around, the huge pile of paperwork once balanced on Emma's desk was scattered around like confetti, and there were dents in the wall. It looked like there'd been a struggle. And a pretty violent one too. Graham looked around some more for clues as to what had happened, wondering where Emma was. There was no way she'd allow this to happen. He noticed that his nose was throbbing, and when he reached up he knew it was broken. Maybe he'd fallen over and blacked out outside? More importantly, where was Emma? Ever since she'd rejected him, he'd been lying low and avoiding her, but that didn't mean that he loved her any less. In fact, he ignored her because it hurt so much to look at her. The woman he loved so much.

And that's when he saw it. He gasped out loud in horror, grabbing onto the wall for support when he saw Emma, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Nausea forced him to turn away, but he was unable to just leave her. He tiptoed closer to her. On further inspection, he could see a deep cut on her head, and dark purple bruises beginning to bloom on every inch of exposed skin, especially her neck. But worst of all was the wound on her chest. Blood seeped out of it, staining her tank top and the tiled floor. Graham was no doctor, but he knew that if he didn't get her to a hospital soon, she'd be dead. If she wasn't already. Without caring about the blood that would surely stain his pants, he frantically ripped off his jacket and kneeled down next to her, trying to staunch the blood flow with his right hand as he fumbled for his cell phone with his left hand.

A loud, raw cry of agony and guilt erupted from his lips as he looked down in his right hand to see the gun clenched in it.

**Author's note: Sorry for shorter ch.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Graham immediately backed away from Emma in horror. He stared down at the gun again. _He'd _done this to Emma? He'd, by the looks of the horrible mess in the station, brutally attacked her and then shot her, the woman he loved? No. That was not possible. There was no way in hell that he'd done that.

But the gun in his hand and the ache in his nose proved otherwise. If he just had a broken nose, then it was highly possible that he'd fallen on the ice outside and blacked out while someone came and attacked Emma. But the gun? It was undoubtedly Emma's gun. She'd had it specially made to fit her small hands.

There was such a disconnect in Graham's mind. On one hand, there was overwhelming evidence that he'd, based on the finger shaped bruises blooming on her neck, strangled her and then shot her. But on the other hand, he refused to believe that he'd done this. He loved her so much. How could he have so heartlessly attacked and quite possibly killed her? Did he have some sort of violent streak that even he didn't know about?

The smell of blood brought Graham's attention back to Emma. Right. He needed to take her to the hospital. Gingerly, afraid he'd hurt her again, he pressed his jacket to the blood seeping out of his chest while he dialed 911, quickly shouting urgently at the operator that there had been an attack and they had to get here ASAP. He hung up the phone, and then looked at Emma's gun which was still in his hand. Afraid he'd get arrested before he had a chance to see her arrive safely at the hospital, he stashed the gun in his pocket. No one would question a deputy carrying a gun.

The next several hours were a blur to Graham. The ambulance had arrived fairly quickly. They'd quickly loaded Emma inside, and didn't protest when Graham insisted to ride with her. He'd her hand the whole way there, brushing her hair off her face and begging her not to die. Once at the hospital, they'd taken her into the OR, where he wasn't allowed in. The nurses had assured him that she'd be fine, and steered him into the waiting room with a cup of coffee with orders to relax, where he'd sat, mind growing numb as the coffee grew cold. He could not relax, instead choosing to review over and over what had happened.

All he remembered was offering to get coffee for them, Emma's grunt as she acknowledged him, driving to Granny's, picking up the coffee and donuts (he figured he'd get them, since he knew Emma had a sweet tooth), fumbling with his keys, dropping them, and then bending down to pick them up while trying to balance the coffee and donuts. The next thing he knew, he was in the station, Emma's gun clenched in his fist and Emma bleeding on the ground. He had no memory of attacking her. It was as if it'd never happened.

He knew he had to turn himself in eventually, but he didn't want to leave yet on the off chance that the surgery finished while he was gone. At the very least, he wanted someone to be here waiting for Emma. Then, it occurred to him that it would be a good idea to call her parents and Henry. In a numb, toneless voice, he'd explained that there had been an attack and they had to get to the hospital immediately. Hearing Snow's choking sob over the phone was more painful than Graham could bear to hear, so he rattled off the necessary details as fast as he could and hung up the phone with the awful knowledge that Snow's pain was his fault.

After a while, some nurse noticed his broken, swollen nose and offered to X-ray and put a cast on for him. But he waved her off. The pain in his nose was nothing compared to the crushing pain in his heart. How could he have done this? Had he subconsciously been so mad at Emma for rejecting him that he tried to kill her? For the past several weeks that she was back, he'd tried to ignore her despite her attempts at apologizing, for it hurt too much. But never would have thought that'd he tried to kill her. His gut instinct told him that something was off about this whole thing, but evidence didn't lie.

Then, he heard footsteps approaching. Three sets, to be exact. He looked up to find Snow, James, and Henry rapidly walking towards him. Snow's face was streaked with tears, and James and Henry looked no better.

"Graham." Snow's voice wobbled. "How is she?"

"Still in surgery." He answered, casting his eyes down. His guilt was overwhelming.

"What happened?" James asked the inevitable question.

Graham told them an abridged version of the truth, describing how he'd stepped out for coffee and then came back to a badly wounded Emma. When he began describing the extent of her injuries, Snow burst into tears and buried her face in her husband's shoulder.

"I'm so, so sorry." Graham said, but the words were nothing compared to how he felt. "I don't know how this happened."

"It's not your fault." James reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did the best you could, getting her to the hospital in time. It's not like you caused this."

Uh-oh. Those were exactly the wrong words. "But I did." Graham whispered softly. Three sets of eyes looked at him in alarm.

"Huh?"

Graham simply held up Emma's gun. "Because I found this in my hand."

**Author's note: Want next ch ASAP? Easy! Just review**


	19. Chapter 19

**Wasn't planning on updating so soon, but I figured since it's the holiday season I'll be nice. So y'all don't have to beg :P**

Chapter 19

Emma's family immediately backed away from Graham. In a matter of seconds, he'd gone from being a hero to a murderer.

"What exactly do you mean?" James said slowly, going into protective father mode. "You have thirty seconds to explain before I kick your sorry ass." It was kind of funny how similar he was to Emma when they got mad. He shoved Graham up against the wall, seconds away from punching him. "Talk. Now." Fury lined his usually handsome features, and he spat angrily as he talked, staring Graham down.

And so Graham launched into his story, leaving out no details. He described everything; from how he'd driven to Granny's to pick up coffee to how he'd found himself at the station with no memory of what had happened in between. When he finished, Emma's family's faces turned from being shocked and disgusted to very confused.

"That doesn't make any sense." Snow said, pondering over his story. "You said that you don't remember anything after leaving Granny's."

"Exactly." Graham nodded. "I've gone over this for the last four hours. Maybe I subconsciously did this and then blocked it out?"

"No!" Henry shouted. "You wouldn't! You love my mom. You wouldn't kill her."

"Henry…" As badly as Graham wanted this to be true, the evidence pointed otherwise.

"Henry's right." James insisted, sounding a lot less angry now. "There's something else at play here."

"So you said you blacked out and woke up at the station…" Henry said thoughtfully. "This sort of sounds like what happened to Grandpa after he woke up from his coma."

"Right." James snapped his fingers. "And according to Snow, I went to the troll bridge which was where my subconscious wanted me to go."

"So you're saying that my subconscious wanted to kill Emma?" Graham was more confused than ever.

"No. That doesn't make any sense either." Snow said firmly before Graham could protest. "You wouldn't do that to her."

"It almost sounds as though it wasn't you." Henry thought aloud.

"But it was." Graham argued. "I was the one who attacked her. I was the one who fought with her. I was the one who shot her. I was the one who found the gun in my hand."

Everyone fell silent at this.

"You know what? I'm just going to go turn myself in." Graham stood up, determined.

"No! You can't." Henry grabbed onto Graham's sleeve.

"Henry's right." Snow said as she blocked Graham from leaving. "You can't until we get to the bottom of this."

"What's the point? It was me. I did this to her."

They knew there was no point in arguing, for the evidence did ultimately make Graham look guilty. But they couldn't just let Graham turn himself in.

"At the very least, stay until Emma's out of surgery." Snow suggested, employing a different tactic to get him to stay. "It's the right thing to do."

Graham knew it would be useless to argue, so he agreed, sitting back in his chair. The four of them sat in the waiting room for the next several hours. The surgery seemed endless. Snow and James got up multiple times for coffee, while Henry entertained himself with his book of fairy tales and cell phone.

It grew later and later. Gradually, the waiting room became empty, leaving only the four of them there, sitting in worried silence. Henry curled up against his grandmother and fell asleep.

"Do you want me to take Henry home?" Graham offered. He was trying to be as nice as possible to make up for what he'd done. "Cuz of school tomorrow and all."

Snow nodded. She barely seemed to hear him. "Sure."

Graham stood up and scooped up Henry in his arms, fumbling in his pocket for his car keys. Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"I think I left my car at the station." He'd ridden with Emma in the ambulance to the hospital.

"Ok." James nodded. "I'll take him back then." Henry was transferred from Graham to James.

"Do you want a ride back to your car?" Emma's father offered. Graham nodded, feeling guilty that Emma's family was still so nice to him.

The ride to the station was silent. From the stiff way James held himself, Graham could tell that he was sick with worry, for Emma had been in surgery for a really long time. Luckily, they arrived at the station fairly quickly, mostly due to the fact that it was late and hardly anybody was out at night. Storybrooke was a small town.

Graham closed the door to the car, making sure to not wake up Henry. "Thanks for the ride." He scanned the station's parking lot for his car, but it wasn't there.

"What's wrong?" James asked, for Graham was just standing there staring at the mostly empty parking lot.

"My car's not there." Graham muttered. The growing realization that something was very, very wrong seemed to paralyze him. He got back into James's car.

"So how did you get back here after Granny's?" James asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that I took my car there."

Both men looked at each other. They knew that the station was pretty far from Granny's, and no one in their right mind would just walk there, especially in the cold. They decided to drive to Granny's, and sure enough, there was Graham's car. The coffee and donuts were still sitting on the icy pavement next to the front door, where Graham had placed it when he dropped his keys.

"So if I went back to the station to, um, you know," Graham began. "How did I go back to the station? It's like three miles."

They fell silent. This was a new piece in the puzzle, yet neither of them knew how it connected.

"Even if you'd blacked out, your subconscious would have taken your car. It's the rational thing to do." James reasoned.

"Maybe I got a ride with someone." Graham suggested.

"I know." James said. "We can go back to the station and look at the security camera footage. Maybe that'll have some answers."

With renewed purpose, they drove rapidly back to the station, where Graham quickly retrieved all of the camera footage from that day and his laptop. He tried not to look at the huge pool of dried blood that still stained the floor near Emma's desk. They really needed to get someone to clean that up.

He climbed back into James's car, where they quickly turned on the laptop and inserted the disc. "Come, on, come on, come on." He muttered as he hit Play. Slowly, a grainy image began to play on the screen.

"Ok, so I left Granny's at around 9 pm." Graham remembered. He fast forwarded to the correct time. Sure enough, there was an on screen Graham, climbing into his car and driving away.

"I remember waiting for fifteen minutes there, plus the half an hour it took to drive there and back, I've been back no later than 9:45." The Hunstman deduced.

"And this should show if you got a ride from someone else, and if so whom." James added.

They watched the footage to see if this matched their predictions. However, 9:45 passed by and there was no sign of anyone in the parking lot. 10 pm, 10:15, time passed and still no one showed up.

"Around what time did you find yourself back at the station?"

"Um…like 10:30?" Graham guessed. "Yeah, something like that."

"Which meant that everything happened before 10:30…" James was saying, but was interrupted.

"Look!" Graham pointed a finger at a blurry image on the screen. The time stamp in the corner read 10:22 pm.

"What's that?" Both men frowned at the screen in concentration. In dim light of the parking lot, it looked like a giant black cloud.

Graham paused the footage and zoomed in to get a better look. "Can't tell." He hit play, pausing after each second to see if the image cleared up. Slowly, the cloud receded to reveal Graham.

"That looks like you." James said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah. And magic." Graham said. There were only two people they knew in Storybrooke who still had magic.

"Whoa. Hold up." James pointed at the screen. "What does that look like to you?"

"Huh?" Graham stared at his on screen self. "Me?"

"No." James zoomed in even more onto the pixilated image of Graham's face. "That look. Who does that remind you of?"

The color drained out of their faces as they slowly realized that Graham's smile looked eerily identical to a certain someone they knew.

Regina.

**Author's note: I know you hate it when I end a ch w a cliffhanger. So review if you want the next ch. It's literally sitting on my comp waiting to be posted but I won't update till I get some reviews. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: Thanks to Whiskets for the idea for the last few ch!**

Chapter 20

They drove back to the hospital as fast as they could, not even bothering to drop Henry off at home. He could sleep in the hospital. This was way more important.

Snow looked up in alarm as she saw them running towards her at full speed. "What's wrong?" She frowned as she noticed a still sleeping Henry, who was in James's arms. "I thought you were taking him home."

They ignored her. "You'll never believe what we found." Graham said, showing her the footage on his laptop. "Just watch this."

Snow watched the video, her features twisting in confusion, and then horror as she saw Regina's smirk on Graham's face as he emerged from the cloud.

"And that's not all." Graham said as he found another file and hit Play. "On the drive over, I watched the footage from inside the station, where the attack happened."

Horror and disgusted intermixed on Snow's features as she watched the video of her daughter being attacked by Graham. She cried out as she watched Graham attempt to smash her skull in with the lamp, and then almost strangle her to death.

"Stop. Make it stop!" Snow cried. "I can't watch this."

"You have to. It's important." James insisted, trying to soothe his wife.

"Listen to what I was saying." Graham went backwards to where he was strangling Emma and hit Play again.

They strained to hear Graham's voice over the tinny laptop speakers. Not much could be heard over the sounds of Emma choking and struggling, but one phrase was repeated over and over again.

"You stole my son." Graham said along with his on screen self. He closed the laptop. "Now, who do we know would be most likely to say that?"

"Regina." Snow answered.

"Wait what?" A very sleepy voice asked. It was Henry. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Are you saying that my mom tried to kill Emma?"

Snow, James, and Graham all looked at him, unable to tell him that his adoptive mother had hatched such a cruel, magic involving scheme to kill his birth mother. It was too bizarre for words.

Finally, Snow nodded. "I'm sorry, Henry."

Henry didn't say anything for a long moment. His eyes were downcast as the truth hit him. "I should've known. This is all my fault."

His grandparents immediately wrapped him into a comforting hug. "It's ok, Henry. It's not your fault. You couldn't have known what was gonna happen."

Henry pulled away. Guilt was evident on his face. "Yeah, but they always fought over me. I'm the reason Emma got shot."

"It's not your fault." Graham echoed. "Like you said, Regina's the evil queen. There was no way you would've known. She's good at this type of thing."

There was a long silence.

"I never wanna see her again." Henry said after a while. His grandparents nodded in agreement.

"So how exactly did that work? Regina shape shifted into Graham?" James, not used to magic, but eager to change the subject, asked.

"No, I don't think so. If she did that Graham would've still been at Granny's. I think she possessed his body. Took control over it for a short while." Snow quickly explained the tactic her stepmother had used in the past. "It's a really effective way to get things done."

"And it explains everything. Why Graham's car was missing, and why it seemed like he had a blackout and couldn't remember anything." James said.

"So Regina possessed me." Graham repeated. The words felt foreign. "But why me?"

"I think it was so it'd hurt more." Snow suggested. "She knew that you loved Emma, so maybe having you try to kill Emma would make Emma feel guiltier."

Relief flooded through Graham as the full force of this revelation hit him. He hadn't tried to kill Emma. He was in the clear.

"That bitch." James stood up, ready to attack. "She's going to pay for what she did to my daughter."

Snow pulled him back down. "We can't do anything. Not when she has magic. She could be very dangerous."

"Well we can't just sit here…" Graham started to argue but was cut off by Dr. Whale, who was approaching them with a grim look.

"How is she?" Snow and James immediately stood up, frantic with worry.

"She's out of surgery," Whale began. "She has multiple broken ribs, a severe concussion, some internal bleeding, and a gunshot wound in her chest. Not to mention many cuts and bruises."

"But she's ok, right?" Henry asked. He looked like he was about to cry. "My mom's ok though right?"

"I'm afraid not, Henry." Whale replied. He looked sick and exhausted. "Her heart stopped during the procedure, due to the bullet. We were able to get it restarted, but she was without oxygen for six minutes."

"So?"

"So, there's a chance that she won't wake up." Whale finished.

Snow's face crumpled into tears, as did Henry's. James began to comfort his wife and grandson, while Graham, who was filled with anger, fear, horror, and grief, turned and punched the wall as hard as he could.

**Author's note: There you go. For those of you who've been bugging me about an update on Emma's condition, here it is. If any of the medical info is wrong, get over it. I'm a senior in high school, not a doctor. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's note: Over a 100 reviews yayyyy! So here's a new ch, just cut I'm so thankful for my readers :P**

Chapter 21

Sometime in the past several hours, James took Henry home. The ten year old was worn down with exhaustion and grief. He'd protested, but Snow had promised that he could see Emma after he got some sleep.

Worry had aged Snow's features about ten years. She went in to see Emma first, and came out after fifteen minutes, dissolved into tears. She'd buried her face in Graham's shoulder, and he'd tried his best to comfort her. But there wasn't much to say. Whale had been pretty clear about Emma's condition. All they could do was wait.

The part of Graham that wasn't sick with worry and fear was filled with anger and hatred. He wanted to find Regina and punch the hell out of her for doing this to Emma. What exactly had Emma done to the evil queen that had merited this? Sure, Emma had "stolen" Henry and Graham, but it wasn't her fault that they liked her more. Graham briefly wondered how he hadn't known that he was being possessed, but Snow had assured him that Regina's magic was extremely strong and there was no way he could've controlled what had happened. It made him feel better, sort of, but did nothing to ease the worry.

James had gone in to see Emma next, and he too looked beaten down afterwards. It was so strange to see a formerly heroic prince be dissolved into tears at the sight of his comatose daughter. It reminded Graham all over again of Regina, and how he had to take revenge on her for this.

But obviously now was not the time. Right now, Emma needed him. No matter how she'd treated him, how she's so harshly rejected him, he had to be there for her.

After James exited the room, Graham went in. He tiptoed inside, despite the fact that she was heavily sedated. He sat down in the chair next to her bed. Immediately, he found his left hand entwined in her right.

"Hey, Emma." He said softly. "I know you can't hear me and everything, but Whale said talking to you will make you wake up faster." He laughed to himself. "Talking to a comatose patient. I must look crazy."

He wasn't really sure what to say next. "I'm so, so, so sorry about all this. I mean, I guess there's really no reason to be, since I don't know if anyone told you but this was all caused by Regina. She possessed me. How crazy is that, right?" He rambled on. "I shoulda known something like this would happen. I shouldn't have left to get coffee."

"I don't know, I just feel like this whole thing is my fault. You tried to apologize, but I was hell bent on being immature and ignored you. And I'm so sorry about that."

He looked down at her bandaged body guiltily. There was a thick white bandage on her head covering the wound he'd given her when he'd smashed her against the desk. The dark purple finger shaped bruises on her neck and arms stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin, and he knew that underneath her puke green hospital gown was yet another bandage, covering up an ugly wound that his hands had given her.

He choked back a sob. "I love you, Emma. Even if you don't love me, I'll still be here for you. Here when you wake up."

**Author's note: Heyyyyy you want next ch? You know what to do! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's note: Here, a longer ch just for you, White Belt Writer :P**

Chapter 22

The next twelve hours passed by uneventfully. A steady stream of visitor came through Emma's room. Red, Granny, Archie, even August. There were so many visitors that the nurses had to yell at people to keep their voices down in the waiting area. A huge collection of flowers and cards took up residence on the tables and window sill in Emma's room.

Snow, James, and Henry went home every few hours to shower, sleep, and eat. But Graham stayed at Emma's bedside 24/7, for he couldn't bear to leave her. He had this paranoid feeling that Regina was gonna come back to finish off Emma, and if she did Graham would be ready to fight.

There was a knock on the door, and Graham jumped, startled, for he'd just been about to doze off. He turned around and saw Snow.

"Sorry if I woke you." She frowned at him, taking in his disheveled appearance and red rimmed eyes. "Graham, you can always come back to our place to sleep if you want. You don't need to stay here the whole time."

"I'm fine." He said absently. Then, he noticed that she was carrying a white bundle in her arms. "What's that?"

"This?" Snow looked down as if just noticing it for the first time. "Emma's baby blanket. I thought it'd help her. I know it's silly." She blushed.

"What? No. It's sweet that you care about her so much."

Snow crossed the room to the bed and gently spread the blanket over her daughter's prone body, smoothing out the lumps and brushing stray strands of hair off Emma's forehead. "I've missed out on so much of her life, thanks to Regina. And now this." She sniffled. "You should really get some sleep. Emma wouldn't want you to just sit here the whole time."

"All right." He stood up. "Tell me if anything happens."

Snow nodded. "Of course."

The second Graham was out of the room, Snow started to sob heavily. "He's really scared, Emma. So wake up for him, ok?" Tears roll down her cheeks. "Henry needs you. We all need you. We just got you back..." She trailed off, trying to regain her composure.

Henry went in soon after Snow left. He tentatively approached the bed, tiptoeing as if his footsteps could wake up Emma.

"Mom?" He couldn't help saying it, as if merely saying her name would wake her up. He sat down in the chair next to her bed, the chair that had become Graham's new home.

He didn't really know what to say, so he just clasped her hand in both of his.

"So, I don't know if anyone told you yet, but the Evil Queen did this to you. Not Graham." He said. "Graham loves you."

He sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"Mom? Please wake up…" He begged. He knew it was childish and wouldn't really help but he couldn't help it. "Please wake up. There's so much that I wanted to do with you. So much that I wanted to show you about this place." He started to cry, something he hadn't done in ages. "Please, Mommy?" It was a name that he'd never called anyone, not even Regina.

~The New Normal~

Another twenty four hours passed. It had been three days now. Still no sign of waking up. Henry had suggested reading to Emma from his book of fairy tales, but after reading each story three times, they'd deduced that wasn't gonna work. They'd even thought about going to Rumple for help, but then remembered that he'd stolen the last bit of true love's magic and wasn't likely to help them anyway.

Just then, Whale approached them in the waiting room, looking uncomfortable. "Can I speak with you for a sec?"

Graham nodded. He could tell that whatever it was, it wouldn't be good news.

"I'm going to be very honest here. We've been carefully monitoring Emma's brain activity for the past 72 hours, and there has been no change. Currently, a ventilator is breathing for her and because her brain was without oxygen for so long, there's a very good chance she'll never regain consciousness."

Snow's face immediately crumpled up at the sound of his words. She began sobbing quietly into her hands.

"There's more." Whale continued. "Because you're her parents and she's currently incapacitated, you two are her medical proxies. Which means you'll be able to make decisions regarding Emma."

"What do you mean by that?" James asked. Snow was too busy crying to listen.

"Because it's likely that she won't wake up, you can decide to, um, take her off the ventilator or move her to long term care facilities for people in permanent vegetative states." He said, looking around awkwardly.

"No." James and Snow said immediately.

"We're not taking her off the ventilator. Not when there's a chance she could still wake up." Snow added firmly. "We're not giving up on my daughter."

Whale nodded. "All right." He walked away, probably very eager to get away from them.

Henry, who'd just walked in, spoke up. "Is that true? That my mom's not going to wake up?" He asked, suddenly sounding very young.

"Oh, honey, of course that's not true." Snow attempted to comfort her grandson, but her tear streaked face couldn't lie.

"No!" Henry cried his grandparents wrapped him in a tight hug. "Noooooo!"

Graham looked away, anger coursing through him. This was yet another painful reminder of Regina's actions and its repercussions.

**Author's note: Again, if the medical info is wrong, not my fault. What, was I gonna actually look up the info? Too much work. **


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Graham was at Emma's bedside yet again, clutching her right hand in both of his, smoothing his thumb over her the back of her hand. It looked so small and pale compared to his.

"Em…it's been three days still no change. Whale wants to take you off the ventilator, but of course your parents said no. It's a good thing they have some real power around here." He began. Tears began coursing down his cheeks as the thought that Emma might die hit him full force. Even if she didn't love him back, all he wanted was for her to wake up. It would be painful as hell to see her around town, but he could handle it.

"You have to wake up, Em." He sniffled. "If not for me, then for your parents and Henry. They're out there sobbing right now. It's not a pretty sight." He sighed. Even his jokes lacked their usual spark. "In fact the whole town's out there. Emma, we all love you. Please come back to us." He sobbed, burying his face in her baby blanket. It smelled like her, which made him cry even harder. "Come back to me…"He trailed off, overcome with sobs. His shoulders shook as he cried for what seemed like hours.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Graham looked up, only slightly embarrassed at his red rimmed eyes. "Henry? It's almost midnight. Aren't you supposed to be home?"

"Yeah, but I made Grandma drive me back." Henry's eyes gleamed with excitement, something Graham hadn't seen for days. "I have a great idea!"

"And what would that be?" Graham decided to humor the ten year old.

"True love's kiss!" Henry practically shouted.

"Henry," Graham crossed the room to Emma's son. He placed his hands on the kid's shoulders. "We already went over this, remember? Rumpelstilskin took the last bit of true love's magic and used it to bring magic here. There's no more."

"No! That's not what I meant." Henry protested. "True love's _kiss_!" He said again. "You have to kiss her! It's the most powerful magic!"

"Henry…" As much as Graham wanted this to be true, he knew in his heart that it wouldn't work. Emma didn't love him.

"It's how Emma saved me and broke the curse. True love's kiss!" Henry argued. "It works. It has to work!"

"Ok." Graham said, resigned. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? He stood up. "Ok, I'll do it."

Henry smiled happily as he exited the room, practically skipping towards the waiting area where he knew Snow was. There was a certain something in his step that Graham hadn't seen in so long. Hope.

Graham crossed the room to Emma, where he sat down in the chair and grabbed her hand again. "So, I don't know if you heard what Henry just said. But he wants me to, um, kiss you." He scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah. He thinks true love's kiss will wake you up, just like how it broke the curse and saved him." He began to ramble. "I don't know if it's gonna work or not, cuz I love you and you don't…" He trailed off, not wanting to say the inevitable. "But hey, at this point I'm willing to try anything and it couldn't hurt right?"

Graham carefully leaned over, not wanting to crush her with his body. Slowly, he pressed his lips to hers, pretending that she'd kissed back and everything would be ok. But of course he knew that wasn't true.

"I love you, Emma." He said in a broken voice as he kissed her again for good measure and then sat back down, resigned.

He started to cry again, burying his face in her blanket again, breathing in the familiar scent. Her scent. He was so busy crying that he almost didn't feel it. The soft flutter in his hand. He immediately looked up, confused. Graham shook his head. He just deciding that it was just a hallucination brought on by lack of sleep when there it was again. A slight, stronger pressure on his hand.

Graham looked down to see Emma's eyes fluttering.

**Author's note: Another cliffhanger! Dont hate, just review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! And if any of you are interested in Pretty Little Liars, go read "Now that I'm back" by MonkeyLovr. It's amazing. Here's a new ch, just cuz I'm feeling nice and all. So those of you who celebrate Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS! And those who don't, hope you have a good day. **

Chapter 24

Pain. The first thing Emma registered was pain. Well, that and the constant, irritating beep of the heart monitor. She quickly realized that she lying on her back on a hard ass mattress, and there were blinding bright lights in her face. Her whole body throbbed painfully. It was like there was a ten foot nail embedded in her chest and stomach.

Her memory was a gaping hole, which scared her senseless. How long had she been asleep? She tried to picture her last memories, but it was all hazy.

"Emma?" Someone said. Through her foggy vision, all she could make out was dark hair. Their voice sounded very far away. "Can you hear me?"

She tried to say something, but it was like she had no control over her body.

"Em?" A different voice said. It kind of sounded like Mary Margaret. "If you can hear me, blink."

Emma's eyelids felt as if they weighed a couple tons, but she managed to blink a couple times anyway. The overhead light blinded her, so she squeezed her eyes shut again. Luckily, someone clicked the light off. There were so many voices talking at once it made her head spin.

As Emma began to wake up more, her hands began pulling at the tube in her mouth and the wires in her arm.

"Whoa, easy there." Someone (David?) said, stopping her hands. Her vision was still too foggy to make out who it was. "I'll get Whale."

Soon, the tube was pulled out of her mouth, and she started coughing, which made her chest and abdomen hurt like hell.

"Water." She managed to rasp. Her throat was dry, probably from the intubation. Someone handed her a cup, but her hand shook so badly they grabbed it again. Sliding their arm under her neck, they lifted her up slightly and guided the cup to her lips. Their arm had this familiar woodsy scent that made Emma woozy. And, for some reason, it came with an overwhelming feeling of fear. After several sips, whoever it was pulled the cup away and slid her head back down gently.

"Not too much at once." This time the voice sounded like David. "You don't wanna throw up."

"How do you feel?" A gentle voice asked, smoothing out the blanket around her. Sounded like Mary Margaret again.

"Hurts." She rasped. "Everywhere." But that was an understatement. Her whole body hurt so bad it felt like she'd been run over by a truck three times.

"That's cuz you have multiple broken ribs, a severe concussion, some internal bleeding, and a gunshot wound in her chest. Not to mention many cuts and bruises." A voice that sounded like Henry's, recited.

Emma tried to laugh, but it hurt too much.

"Come on, Henry, we should probably let Emma sleep." David (at least Emma thought it was him, her vision was still too blurry too tell) said. Emma wanted to protest that Henry could stay, but then thought better of it.

"I'll get Whale to up your morphine." Mary Margaret said as she left the room.

Henry followed. "Bye Mom."

"What happened?" Emma asked the remaining figure in the room. The last thing she could remember was working at the station, and then waking up here.

"You were, um, attacked." Whoever it was said hesitantly. Although she was still so out of it, Emma could tell that whatever it was wasn't good. Their voice brought back strange memories, memories of paralyzing fear, heartbreak, and imminent death. It was so familiar, yet she couldn't remember.

"More water?" She asked, hating the way her hand shook. They slid their arm under her neck again, bringing the cup to her lips. Emma breathed in, which made her whole body shudder with pain. She got a huge whiff of their woodsy scent again, and suddenly memories came rushing back.

She remembered looking up to see Graham try and bash her head in with a lamp, and then nearly strangle her to death. How she'd been so close to giving in, but then got away in time. How he'd punched her over and over until she could barely breathe. She remembered how he'd knocked her into her desk, sending her flying straight to the ground. How he'd stood over her, with her gun in hand, the cruelest look she'd ever seen on his face. How eerily similar to Regina's it was. How he'd pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight into her heart.

Above all, Emma remembered how awful it was to have him attack her, leaving her with the thought that he hated her so much for rejecting him that he wanted to kill her. Just when she'd finally found someone who truly loved her and she finally realized she loved, it turned out they were a complete psycho who'd probably never even loved her. It was probably all a ruse just to reel her in so he could kill her. It almost hurt more than her broken body.

She sputtered, choking on large mouthful of water, and began coughing violently. The slight movement made her whole body ache with pain. Damn those broken ribs.

"Emma, Em, it's ok. Calm down." The person said. Emma looked straight up at them and into their familiar brown eyes, the eyes of the man who'd tried to kill her.

Graham.

She started screaming, thrashing around wildly, spilling water all over her blanket (was that her baby blanket?). Graham stood up and tried to calm her down, whispering soothing things in her ear, but all she could hear were the words of someone who'd tried to kill her, who'd nearly succeeded in doing so.

"Nooo! Get off! Go away!" She shrieked loudly, hoping that someone, anyone would overhear and save her. What the hell was Graham doing here anyway? Weren't murderers not allowed in hospitals? Had he come to finish her off?

"Help! He's trying to kill me!" She screamed again, ignoring the searing pain as she did so. Hadn't anybody known that Graham was the one who'd put her in the hospital in the first place?

Within seconds, the door banged open, and Mary Margaret, David, Henry, and Whale rushed in, all looking concerned.

"What's going on?" David demanded, looking furious.

"I don't know, she just started freaking out." Graham said anxiously.

They all started whispering in the corner, casting worried glances at her every so often. Emma couldn't hear much, but the words Graham, leave, and calm down stuck in her mind. After a few minutes, Graham left the room, casting her a long look of sadness and longing before closing the door behind him. Emma stared at the closed door in confusion. Then, Whale left the room, leaving her with just her parents and Henry.

"Hey." Mary Margaret approached her bed. "You should try and get some sleep."

"Graham, he tried to kill me." Emma said vehemently. "You need to call the cops."

Her mother looked up at someone. Probably David. They seemed to have a conversation with just their eyes.

"Graham didn't…" Henry began, but he was cut off by Mary Margaret.

"Wha's goin on?" She slurred. It was probably a side effect from the drugs.

"Nothing." Her mother said, smoothing out her hair. It was something that none of her foster parents had bothered to do, even she was a scared 5 year old getting her appendix out. "Just get some sleep."

"We'll be here when you wake up." David added soothingly. He and Mary Margaret exchanged that look again.

Emma was too disoriented to follow their exchange. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep, where she'd undoubtedly be plagued by nightmares of a murderous Graham.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Graham leaned heavily against the wall, his head in his hands. He couldn't get that look out of his head. When he'd looked into Emma's eyes, all he saw was deep, dark, raw fear. Fear of him.

He should've known that would happen. That the second Emma saw him she'd immediately freak out. After all, it was his body that tried to kill her. His hands that'd given her those ugly bruises on her neck and his hands that'd broken her ribs and shot a bullet at her heart. He looked down at his hands in disgust. He knew that it had all been Regina's doing, but he couldn't help but feel partially responsible.

Above all, the feeling that Emma was that afraid of him hurt like crazy. It made him so overwhelmingly guilty that he could barely breathe. Regina was damn good at revenge. She'd destroyed any chance at happiness for him.

A part of him wanted to just get the hell out of Storybrooke and start a new life elsewhere. But he wouldn't leave, no. He'd promised Emma that he'd stay by her side. And even if she was too scared of him, at least he could stay in the hospital to protect her. Even if she thought he was the enemy.

"Hey." Mary Margaret gently closed the door to Emma's room. "Are you ok?"

Graham looked up from the floor, where he'd curled into a ball. He shrugged. "How is she?" His voice sounded broken and empty.

"She's sleeping now." Mary Margaret said as she sat down next to him. "Managed to calm her down."

Graham nodded. "Do you think it'd be better if I just left?"

Emma's mother shook her head violently. "Of course not!"

"But you saw the way she freaked out back there. She's scared of me."

"We just need to explain what happened," Mary Margaret replied. "She loves you, Graham. Emma loves you. I see it in the way she looks at you."

"But she said…"

"To hell with what she said." Emma's mother insisted. "Emma loves you. All we have to do is explain the truth about what happened."

~The New Normal~

Several days passed uneventfully. Graham steered clear of Emma's room, and so she remained relatively calm, save for a couple nightmares. She had a steady stream of visitors again, all bearing flowers, teddy bears, and get well cards.

Staying true to his promise, Graham practically slept in the hospital waiting area which was just down the hall from Emma's room. He kept a constant lookout for Regina, in case she heard that Emma was awake and healing and wanted to come finish her off. But strangely, the evil queen stayed out of sight.

"Hey." Henry shook him awake one night. Graham was curled up in a chair, trying to sleep.

"Henry?" He said sleepily. Those damn chairs weren't the comfiest things ever.

"Emma's asking for you." The ten year old said.

Graham sat up, feeling very alert all of a sudden. The name Emma seemed to pierce his heart like a knife. "What are you talking about?"

"I was just in there with Grandma and Grandpa, and they explained everything about what happened with the evil queen." Henry felt funny calling his adoptive mother that, even though it was so true. "And then she told me to fetch you. Said she needed to talk to you."

Graham rubbed his eyes. "Henry, it's late, I'm sure she doesn't want to see me."

But Henry wasn't budging. "Yes she does." He said stubbornly. "Just go!"

Graham couldn't say no to the look Henry was giving him. So he stood up and walked slowly down the hall to Emma's room. He just hoped that she wouldn't freak out that badly this time. When he approached the slightly open door, he peeked inside cautiously. Emma looked better than she had in days. She was sitting up in bed, talking to her parents and her eyes looked more lucid than they had in days. With her hair tied back and some color back in her cheeks, she looked much more like herself.

He knocked on the door, hoping that this would be as painless as possible, and then entered.

Snow and James immediately headed out. "We'll give you some privacy." They closed the door behind them. Great. Now if Emma started to scream again people would think he was attacking her.

Tentatively, he approached her. She was just staring at him blatantly.

"Hey." He said softly, hoping he wouldn't scare her again.

"Hey." Emma replied.

There was an awkward silence.

Every part of Graham wanted to wrap his arms around her thin frame, to feel her beneath his arms, and above all to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her. But of course he couldn't do that, no matter how beautiful she looked. So he clasped his hands behind his back.

"I'm sorry." She began. "You know, for freaking out on you."

Graham hovered near the end of her bed. "It's fine."

"No, it's not." She said. "I should've known that Regina was behind that. Should've known that you'd never do something like that." She sniffled, looking around awkwardly. "I'm not very good at this."

"Hey. Don't cry." Graham said, handing her a Kleenex. "You'll just hurt yourself."

Emma laughed, and winced, clutching her ribs in pain. "Yeah." She agreed.

Sensing that she wasn't going have another panic attack, he edged closer, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"And I'm sorry about everything else too." She continued. "I mean, you told me that you loved me and I slapped you." She snorted, sounding very much like her old self. "It's something Henry would do. How immature is that?"

Emma rambled on. She was so obviously not good at expressing her emotions. "You were right. I was hurt in the past. And that shouldn't interfere with the rest of my life." She sniffled again. "God you must hate me…" She was cut off, for Graham chose that moment to press his lips against hers, effectively silencing her.

Instantly, he felt her body relax beneath his. He wrapped his arms around her thin body, and rubbed his arms up and down her back. The kiss grew deeper, his hands tangling themselves in her blonde curls, which had come undone from its ponytail. He pressed closer to her, kissing the bandage on her head and then down to the bruises on her neck (the bruises that his hands had inflicted but he tried to ignore that fact), needing to feel her body against his. It lasted a wonderful several minutes before she pulled away, gasping for air.

"I could never hate you." He whispered tenderly in her ear as he stroked her cheek gently. He felt her shiver in delight at his touch.

"I love you." She said, pulling away and staring straight into his eyes. It made her so scared to admit this out loud, especially since the last time this happened was right before she went to jail.

At the sound of those words, he felt tears come to his eyes. It was so surreal. Just about a week ago, she was lying in this very bed on the brink of death. And now, save for the stiff way she held herself and the bruises/bandages, it was like the attack had never happened.

"I love you too." He wrapped his arms tightly around her, loosening them slightly when he felt her gasp in pain.

Just then, she noticed his bruised and scarred knuckles. "Hey. What happened?" She lightly kissed his hand.

Graham looked down, embarrassed at his loss of control. "Punched a wall." He admitted, making Emma laugh. It was such a beautiful sound.

"God, I was so scared." He breathed. "I mean, just seeing you lying on the ground like that, and then knowing that I was somehow responsible…" He trailed off, not wanting to dredge up those repressed memories.

"Hey." Emma said. "It wasn't your fault. Mary Margaret and David told me everything. About how Regina, _used _your body or whatever." Magic was such a strange concept to her.

"Possessed." Graham corrected her.

"Right." She rolled her eyes. "Sounds like something out of a cartoon." She yawned. For the first time, Graham noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes that stood out starkly on her pale skin. It was obvious that she was still in pain and probably still having nightmares, unable to sleep. He didn't blame her, for he'd re-watched the security footage from the station and was horrified at how scary he'd been. He felt a stab of guilt again.

"You should get some sleep." Graham said, but he didn't want to leave her. Not when he'd just gotten her back. He stood up to leave, but Emma stopped him with a hand on his wrist.

Sliding over in the bed, she pulled him closer. "Come here."

Graham wanted to protest, to say that this wasn't allowed and if a nurse came in they'd surely be in trouble, but the bed looked so inviting, and he knew he could never say no to her. So he slid in bed next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist, being careful to not squeeze too hard.

Emma snuggled into his chest, and he breathed in her familiar scent, overwhelmingly happy. He began to drift off into slumber, but was interrupted.

"Promise me something." She murmured sleepily as he stroked her back in gentle circles.

"What's that?"

"Don't try and take revenge on Regina."

At the sound of the evil queen's name, Graham's heart began to pound and anger rose, but he managed to keep himself calm.

"Why?"

"You saw what she did to me. I don't want this happening to you too." She pulled away and stared deep into his eyes. "Promise me."

When Graham didn't say anything, she stared him down. "Graham. I'm serious."

"Alright, I promise." Graham said reluctantly. This answer seemed to satisfy Emma and within seconds she was asleep.

As he listened to Emma snore softly, Graham knew that this was one promise he could not keep.

**Author's note: This is the last ch till Jan so Happy New Year in advance! As always, REVIEW!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's note: Hope everyone had a great winter break! Back to school tomorrow ugh. **

Chapter 26

Ever since he and Emma made up, Graham spent most of his time in her hospital room, talking, listening to her complain, or just snuggling together. Mostly their time consisted of him trying to entertain her and make her laugh, since it was beyond obvious that she was sick of the inactivity, and hated being in the hospital. She said it reminded her of her past, and judging by the pain in her eyes Graham could tell that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

It was the happiest he'd ever been in, well, ages. But there was still this horrible nagging feeling inside, this feeling that this happiness wouldn't last. He knew that Regina wouldn't allow Emma to win. The fact that Emma had lived coupled with the evil queen's thirst for revenge ensured that Regina would be back soon to kill Emma again. And with her magic back, this pretty much that Emma was left vulnerable. There was nothing Graham could do to protect her if the evil queen decided to come.

There was really one solution: to beat Regina at her own game. Graham had been thinking about this ever since Emma woke up. The only way to ensure Emma's safety would be to kill Regina. It was something Graham didn't want to do. Deep down, he knew he wasn't a killer. But there really wasn't anything else he could do.

He knew that this would be breaking the promise he made to Emma. And he knew damn well just how important it was that he kept his promises to her, especially given her past. But he had no choice. He knew that if Emma found out about this, she'd likely break up with him. But he loved her so much he was willing to take that risk. He'd rather have her safe, and hating him, than dead and still in love with him.

Graham knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed to talk to Snow and James, obviously. But above all, he knew that he needed extra help. Preferably from someone who had magic. Someone like Rumpelstilskin.

"Hey. Can I talk to you?" Graham pulled Snow and James aside one afternoon. He'd just left Emma's room, after making sure that she was sound asleep. The last thing he needed was for her to find out what he wanted to do.

"Sure. What's up?" James asked. It was amazing how much more normal they looked now that Emma was getting better every day. In fact, Whale had said she could go home in a couple days.

"We need to do something about Regina." Graham began, trying to keep his voice low. Snow started to protest, but Graham cut her off. "I know her. I've spent many years as a prisoner in her castle. She hates it when she loses. It's just a matter of time before she comes back for her revenge."

Snow still looked hesitant, but James nodded. "You're right. So what do you suggest we do?"

"I don't know. Killing her would be the most practical thing to do, but because she has magic…" Graham's voice trailed off, for he didn't want to say the inevitable.

"We could go to Gold for help." Snow voiced exactly what Graham had been thinking. "He's the only other person, save for Regina, who has magic."

James didn't look too crazy about the idea, but he nodded. "It's worth a try."

The three of them decided to visit Gold's shop the next day, after making sure Henry was either safely at home or at the hospital with Emma. While he was adamant on never seeing his adoptive mother again, they didn't think he'd take kindly to them trying to kill her.

~The New Normal~

The ding of the bell in front of Gold/Rumple's shop reminded Graham of the façade that Storybrooke had been under for almost 3 decades. All thanks to Regina. Graham felt yet another stab of anger at the evil queen, who'd done many unspeakable horrors to the innocent people of the Enchanted Forest. From taking away their loved ones to trapping them under a curse all in the name of taking revenge on Snow White, it was overwhelmingly clear that she deserved to die.

"Ah, Snow White. How may I help you?" Gold limped out from the back of his store. To the blind eye he was nothing more than your average store owner, but they all knew that his store was no normal antique shop. It contained magic to do anything you wanted.

"We need help." Snow began.

With all due respect, Ms. Blanchard, does this look like a face that cares?" Gold quipped as he step-thumped towards them.

"Not here for jokes." James started forward angrily, but Snow held him back. She knew from experience that you didn't want to fight Rumple. You'd just lose.

"Emma's in danger." Graham said, capturing Rumple's interest. The dark one raised his eyebrows.

"Really, dearie?" He said. "And may I ask why?"

They launched into the horrible tale about how Regina had possessed Graham and tried to kill Emma. To his credit, Rumpelstilskin stayed quiet during the whole story, only nodding to himself and murmuring quietly that he'd taught her well, whatever that meant.

"So what you want is for me to kill Regina." Rumple said after they were done. "Can't help you, sorry."

"Why?" Snow demanded.

"Because I made a promise to someone that I wouldn't. Sorry." He said, not sounding very sorry at all.

"But we can't just let Regina kill Emma." Graham argued. "Can you give us any magic or anything?"

"Magic's not for sale." Rumple replied.

"But we need to do something." Graham approached him. "Please."

One look at Graham's puppy dog expression and it was overwhelmingly clear that he was desperate.

"You love her." Rumple realized. Graham just shrugged. By now it was common knowledge.

"Well, lucky for you, I happen to have a soft spot for love." He limped back around the counter and started rifling through his things. After a few seconds of searching, he held up a book.

"This is the key to all of your problems. Its how Regina got all of her magic." He explained.

Graham made a grab for the book, but Rumple held it out of reach. "Not so fast, Hunstman. This isn't for sale. Magic's not for sale." He repeated

"B-but…"

"How exactly will that help us then?" James demanded angrily, reaching for his sword.

"Because, Mr. Nolan, this is the key to all of Regina's problems as well." Rumple said, his eyes shining.

"What?"

Rumpelstilskin explained how although he brought magic to Storybrooke, he was the only one with magic. Yes, Regina had had magic in the Enchanted Forest, but here magic was limited so hers was quickly running out.

"Have you seen her recently?" Rumple asked. The three of them shook their heads.

"That's what I thought. It's because she's out of magic. It probably ran out a while ago. If she had it Ms. Swan would be dead right now and you wouldn't be here."

"So what are you saying?" Snow asked. "That Regina needs this book too?"

Rumple nodded. "Exactly. As a matter of fact, she's looking for it right now."

"Are you gonna give it to her?"

Rumple shrugged. "If the price is right…"

James slammed his hand on the counter. "My daughter's life is in jeopardy here and you're just going to sit back and let that happen?"

Rumple leaned in real close until their noses were practically touching. "My dear Prince Charming, if I were you, I wouldn't waste time here arguing with me. I'd go looking for an alternate solution."

"And what alternate solution are you suggesting?" James practically snarled. "If Regina got her hands on that book, we'd all be dead and you know it."

"When it comes to magic, I'm not the only one who has it." Rumple said mysteriously. He looked at his watch. "Looks like it's time to go." With that, he limped into the back, leaving his 3 visitors extremely confused.

~The New Normal~

"What exactly did Gold mean by that?" Snow asked later. They were sitting in a booth in Granny's, trying to discuss their problem without alerting the huge population of people who seemed to be eating there.

"Someone else has magic." Graham recited. "But who?"

They all wracked their brains, but couldn't think of anyone else who had magic. Of course, they hadn't known everyone back in the Enchanted Forest, but there really weren't that many people who had magic.

Just then, someone opened the door, letting in a huge blast of icy wind, causing napkins to fly around the crowded diner. A hat swirled around in the air, landing on their table.

"Hey. You dropped your hat!" Snow stood up and handed the hat back to its owner. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.

"Hat…." She murmured to herself. "Hat…" She snapped her fingers. "Hat!"

"Yes. That's a hat." James said slowly. "What's your point?"

"Jefferson! Er, the Mad Hatter! That's who can help us!" Seeing the baffled expressions on James and Graham's face, she explained about the Mad Hatter. They had no idea if he'd help them, but at this point anything was worth a try.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's note: I know it's a shorter ch sorry**

Chapter 27

"So will you help us?" Graham asked Jefferson. They'd managed to track him down through his daughter Grace, and cornered him.

To their surprise, Jefferson nodded readily. "Sure."

"Well that was easy." Snow was surprised. "Why?"

"Let's just say that Regina's ruined many more lives including mine." He said bitterly. "So what exactly do you want?"

~The New Normal~

It was a simple, yet brilliant plan. Except for the fact that it required Henry's cooperation, which would be the hard part.

They decided to approach Henry and explain the plan as gently as possible. If he agreed, then they could proceed. But if he didn't, then, well, there really was no alternative. Worst case possible, Regina would get her magic back and unleash all hell on them.

"Henry? Can we talk to you?" Snow asked one day. It was after school, and because Emma had recently been released from the hospital, Henry was home. To ensure that Emma wouldn't overhear, Graham had taken her out to Granny's.

"Sure. What's up?" He crossed the room to where his grandparents were sitting on the couch.

"It's about Regina." James said nervously.

At the mention of is adoptive mother's name, Henry seemed to step back in fear. "What's wrong? Did she do something to Emma again?"

"No, honey, of course not." Snow rubbed her grandson's arm soothingly. "But we need to talk." She patted the chair next to her, and Henry sat obediently.

"We came up with a plan." James began.

"What kind of plan?" Henry asked tentatively.

"A plan to ensure that she won't hurt anyone again."

Henry shot up in alarm. "You're not gonna try to kill her, are you? You can't! I know she tried to kill Emma, but you can't kill her. It'll make you as evil as her!"

"We're not going to kill her." Snow reassured him. "We're going to, how do we put this, _transport _her somewhere."

"Huh?" Henry was confused.

Patiently, Snow and James explained their plan to Henry, whose eyes grew wider and wider. When they were done, they were relieved to see their grandson nod in agreement.

"That's a good idea." He frowned in concentration. "But how can we make sure that she doesn't come back?"

They explained everything Rumple and Jefferson had told them, how Regina didn't have magic anymore and Jefferson was willing to burn his hat afterwards to further ensure that Regina stayed gone.

"Are you sure that you're ok with this?" Snow asked.

"She's your mom, whether you like it or not. So if you're not comfortable with this, we can find a different way." James added.

Henry shook his head vehemently. "No. She's not my mom. Emma's my mom." He stood up to go. "She stopped being my mom the second she tried to kill Emma."

**Author's note: Yep, not killing Regina. After the most recent Once episode I realized it would be terribly out of character for Snow to agree to kill her.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews! **

Chapter 28

The plan was set for the following Saturday. To ensure that Emma wouldn't find out about this, they'd arranged for Ruby to keep her occupied, saying something about needing a girl's night.

To no one's surprise, Henry had offered to help them with their plan. At first, the problem of getting Regina alone without raising suspicion was a problem, for if they asked to meet her somewhere it'd be too obvious. But Regina would never suspect anything if Henry was the one who'd ask to meet her. So they decided to have Henry invite Regina out for lunch at Granny's. Snow had explained their plan to Red and Granny, and they'd graciously offered to let them use their diner.

That Saturday, as planned, Ruby came over to pick up Emma. Luckily, she didn't suspect anything, waving cheerily goodbye to Henry as she slammed the door of her apartment. Earlier, James and Snow had left, using the excuse that they had plans. They'd figured that if they were all home on a Saturday morning it would look too weird. They were currently on their way to Granny's to meet Jefferson to set everything up. Graham had just left, saying that he needed to get stuff from the station when in fact he was headed to Granny's.

Meanwhile, Henry pulled out his cell phone and dialed his adoptive mother's number. Within seconds, she picked up.

"Henry?" From the hopeful tone of her voice, it was beyond obvious that she'd missed her son.

"Hi. Mom." Henry swallowed hard at the use of that word. Ever since Regina had tried to kill Emma, the word "mom" was reserved for Emma only.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet me at Granny's for lunch."

"Sure." Even through the phone, you could tell that Regina was overjoyed. "See you there in twenty minutes.

As Henry hung up the phone, he smiled like the cat that swallowed the canary. As expected, Regina had fallen for their trap. Phase one was complete.

~The New Normal~

Regina hung up the phone, dread rising in her chest. Right as she saw Henry's name on the caller ID, shed known that this was a trap. Why else would Henry, who hadn't spoken to her since the curse was broken, suddenly call her and invite her out to lunch. It was a trap. It had to be. How stupid did they think she was, trying to use Henry as bait?

She'd known that Emma was alive. Her revenge plan wasn't the best plan ever, but given the limited amount of magic here, it was all she could work with. The ideal plan would be to take Emma's heart and crush it, of course, but that had been out of the question. That required an insane amount of magic, an amount that was clearly not available here. So she'd gone with the next best thing, which was to possess Graham and kill Emma that way. She figured it would also hurt Emma more, to have someone she loved turn psycho and try to kill her. Regina never expected that Emma would live through that, since as Graham she'd tried her hardest to kill the blonde. But clearly, she'd underestimated the power of true love's kiss. Again.

Of course, she had to show up at Granny's. If she didn't, they'd probably figure out that she was onto them and invade her house. And she could not let that happen. Regina reached behind her mirror in the hall, extracting a sharp blade. It had been her mother's. She fingered it, thinking about the other object of her mother's that would've come in useful. She was still bitter about how that magic book was in Rumple's possession, and of course there was no way he'd give it to her. Ugh.

The knife was the next best thing. It was the sharpest blade in all the realms, so sharp it could slice through bone with the mere flick of her wrist. Because she had so little magic left, it was the only way she had to defend herself. She cursed herself for not thinking to buy a gun.

As Regina drove to Granny's, she knew that she was walking into an ambush. She laughed to herself, almost feeling sorry for them. She may have little to no magic left, but it wasn't like they had any. There was no way they could take her down. Not when she was armed with this knife. As she checked her reflection in the mirror, she thought vaguely that after everyone was dead, she'd take Henry home. Of course he'd miss Emma, but after he realized how great Regina was, he'd forget all about his bitch crap of a birth mother.

~The New Normal~

Grabbing his bag, Henry slid the couch and headed out to Granny's. He had to get there before Regina in order for their plan to work, and Regina's office was much closer to Granny's than their apartment. He got there relatively quickly, despite the throngs of people congregated on the streets. As preplanned, Granny's had a huge CLOSED sign on the glass door.

"Hey." Henry said breathlessly as he quietly clicked the door shut behind him. All the chairs and tables had been cleared out into the back, leaving the floor empty, save for Jefferson's hat which sat in the very center of the floor.

"All right, so let's review." James said, emerging from the back where he was carrying out the last armful of chairs. "Henry will be waiting outside for Regina to meet her when she comes. Graham will keep watch outside to make sure no one goes in. Snow and I will be hiding in the bushes outside, and Jefferson will be in here with the hat. Once she gets here, Henry will fake a phone call, she'll open the door, and that's when Jefferson will open the portal. Snow and I will push Regina into the hat. After Regina goes through, Jefferson will close the portal, and then we'll take the hat to the beach to burn."

Everyone nodded grimly. It was a simple enough plan, yet there were so many places where things could go wrong. For all they knew, Regina could have her magic back, or one of them could get sucked in the hat. But there was no use dwelling on these "what ifs".

They all looked up as they heard Regina's car approach from the distance. "All right, places everybody." James commanded, sounding every bit like the prince he used to be. Everyone got into their assigned spots, hearts pounding with fear. This was it. The moment that would determine the rest of their lives.

"Henry." The evil queen slammed the door to her car and click clacked over towards her son with a smirk on her face. She wrapped her son in a tight hug, failing to notice the stiff way he held himself. "It's so nice to see you."

"Yep." Henry shrugged, trying to hide his quaking nerves. He still couldn't believe that the woman who stood so calmly in front of him had hatched such an evil plan to kill his mother.

As preplanned, Snow, who was watching from the bushes, dialed Henry's cell, which started ringing loudly.

"Oops, I have to take this." He said apologetically, turning away. "Can you go get seats and order me a hot chocolate?" He smiled sweetly, knowing full well that Regina always believed everything he said.

"Sure." The evil queen said, striding towards the door. She pushed it open, acting as if she owned the town. As the door slowly swung open, Henry, who was holding his phone to his ear, could see that Jefferson had successfully opened the portal.

"Now!" James shouted. As Regina gasped in surprise, he and Snow jumped out from their hiding places and shoved her towards the open portal, hard. For a second, everything seemed to be working out perfectly. Regina's face bore a mix of shock and fear, as they'd expected. She seemed to be too surprised to fight back.

But that was the moment everything went wrong. Instead of waiting outside like he was supposed to, Henry stepped inside, probably to catch a last glimpse of his adoptive mother. And Regina, spotting her son, somehow broke free from Snow and James and grabbed Henry.

"Nobody moves, or he goes in." A sardonic grin crept across her features as she watched everyone around her freeze in fear with the realization that she had the upper hand yet again.

**Author's note: don't you just love cliffhangers? **


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Emma stopped short, her heart suddenly pounding in fear for some strange reason. She and Ruby were in the midst of shopping at a surprisingly cute boutique. Ruby was sifting through the sale rack, jeans piled in her skinny arms.

For an unknown reason, Emma had this feeling that Henry was in danger. Which made no sense. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts. It was probably just yet another side affect from her meds. Again.

She stepped over to another rack, trying to calm down her racing heart. But it was no use. This strange feeling coursed through her veins, making it hard to breathe. Her head spun, and her vision spun.

"Emma?" Ruby turned towards the sheriff. "Is everything ok?"

"I don't know." Emma murmured, collapsing against a table full of more sale items.

"You look really pale." Ruby said worriedly.

Emma ignored her. The feeling grew stronger and stronger. She couldn't say anything, and her thoughts were incoherent.

"Henry." She muttered.

"What?" Ruby was confused. "Here, I'll just go get you some water…"She turned away, but Emma stopped her.

"Henry. Something's wrong with Henry." She gasped.

"I'm sure everything's ok…"

"No. Something's wrong. He's in danger. I can feel it."

"Ok…"It was clear that Ruby was confused beyond belief, but she went along with it. "Where is he? What's he doing today?"

Emma shrugged. "Don't know. I think he said something about going to Granny's with a friend…" She trailed off as she realized the inevitable.

Ruby looked down guiltily, picking at her long nails. "Uh oh…"

"What is it?"

"Um…you're not going to like it."

"Just. Tell. Me." Emma said, her voice rising in urgency. "Whatever it is, _my son_ is in danger because of it."

So Ruby launched into the revenge plan and how Graham, David, Mary Margaret, Henry, and Jefferson were planning to lure Regina to Granny's and suck her into a portal opened by Jefferson's hat.

"Nothing was supposed to go wrong, I swear." Ruby said desperately. "We went over and rehearsed this so many times. It was supposed to be foolproof."

"I can't believe you kept this from me." Emma said angrily. "I can't believe Graham didn't tell me…" She said, more to herself than Ruby.

"I'm sorry..." Ruby said, sounding like she was about to burst into tears. "They made me swear to not tell you. I wanted to all day!"

"It's fine." Emma said curtly, not really listening to what Ruby was saying. She grabbed her bag and strode rapidly out the door towards her car, making sure her gun was firmly in its holster. She didn't know what lay in store at Granny's, but if Regina had something to do with it then it wouldn't be good.

~The New Normal~

Regina looked around in satisfaction, admiring her handiwork. All around her, Snow, James, Graham, and Jefferson were frozen in place, eyes filled with fear. She gripped Henry firmly in both arms, despite his struggles.

"Regina…" James began slowly. "Can we talk about this?" He cautiously took a step forward, but Regina inched closer to the portal, being sure to not back too far so they'd get sucked in.

"Let the boy go." Jefferson urged from his spot towards portal. "This is just between us."

Regina ignored Henry's squirming. She laughed, enjoying the sound ring around the otherwise empty diner. "No." She smirked.

"Please." Snow said desperately. "Don't do this. Henry's innocent."

"Oh, don't worry my dear; I'm not going to hurt him. He's _my son_." Her eyes flashed angrily, and everyone instinctively took a step back.

"Mom." Henry gasped. "Please let me go."

"Henry. It's ok." She said in a voice she hoped was soothing. "Everything's going to be fine." She looked around the room, enjoying the power she had over everyone. It'd been so long since she'd been in control. "Now, here's how things are gonna work…" She began, but was interrupted by the formerly closed door flying open.

"I don't think so." A voice said. Regina immediately seized up in anger at the sound of that voice. It was _her._ Emma Fucking Swan. With Ruby at her heels.

"Ms. Swan. You're looking better." Regina mocked. "Out of the hospital I see."

"Yeah. No thanks to you." Emma snorted, stepping slowly into the diner. "Still torturing people I see." She looked around the room at her scared family. Ever so briefly, she locked eyes with Graham, hoping to convey all of her betrayed feelings through her stare.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it torturing. Sounds so _awful_. More like putting in their place." Regina said amicably, as if they were talking about the weather.

"Wow. You're a real _bitch_ aren't you? No wonder Graham left you and Henry doesn't love you."

And then it happened. Regina launched herself at Emma with an animalistic screech at exactly the same time Emma leaped at Regina, screaming, "Henry run!" As Emma expected, Regina released Henry, who took off running towards Snow.

The two grappled on the floor, but Emma, who was slightly smaller, was eventually overpowered. Emma, pinned on the floor under Regina, mere inches from the swirling portal, somehow wrenched her gun out and aimed it straight at the evil queen's heart.

But Regina merely cocked her head and clucked her tongue mockingly. "So pathetic. Just like your mother." With magic she didn't even know she still possessed, Regina waved her hand and the gun flew straight into the portal, swirling down into its depths. With her other hand, she froze everyone in the room in place, save for herself and Emma. Instantly, it was as if time was frozen. Everyone's irritating shouts of protests were silenced, and the room was eerily quiet.

"Ah. Much better." Regina said calmly. Underneath her, she could feel Emma struggling to throw her off, but she merely pressed her knees harder into the blonde's skinny arms.

"Get off me you bitch." Emma grunted. Regina, annoyed at the sound of Emma's voice, waved her hand and took away her voice.

Regina leaned over and patted Emma's face in a faux-soothing way. "Don't worry, my dear, where you're going, I won't be there." She reached into her jacket and pulled out the knife, where she'd stashed it before exiting her car earlier. She held it up to Emma's face, thoroughly enjoying the look of terror that crossed the blonde's rapidly paling face, making sure that Emma got a good luck at the knife and its sharpness.

"See this knife here? It used to be my mother's." Regina stroked the knife like it was a pet. "It's so sharp it could slit your throat with just a flick of my wrist." She admired the glinting knife in her hand. "It's the only thing left of my mother." A dark look crossed the evil queen's face. Using the knife, she mockingly traced the outline of Emma's cheek. "I cherish it, for it's a constant reminder of everything that went wrong in my life, which includes _you_." She sneered. "It reminds me every day that LOVE. IS. WEAKNESS. That's right, Ms. Swan. Trying to save _my_ son was valiant, but in the end your love for him is your ultimate weakness. Which is why you're trapped on the floor under me, instead of being with your pathetic family and boyfriend."

Fury crept over her features as she raised the knife in the air. "You've taken everything from me. And now I'm going to take away your most valuable thing. Your life."

As Emma registered that she was about to die, she tried as hard as she could to scoot away from Regina and the portal. She scratched at Regina with her nails, kicking and flailing wildly. But of course that was no use, for Regina was stronger than Emma.

"Now let me see? Shall I get this over with quickly? Or do it slowly and let you feel the pain, just like the pain you've caused me." She tapped her finger against her chin, pretending to think. "Hmm…I think the second!" She snarled.

As the knife came rushing towards Emma's heart, Emma willed herself to keep her eyes open. She would not allow herself surrender to Regina. She would stare down the evil queen as she died. Emma braced herself for the coming knife, making sure to keep the defiant stare in her eyes.

But then something strange happened. Instead of the knife plunging straight into Emma's heart, it stopped just mere millimeters away from her chest. A confused look crossed Regina's face, but she blinked quickly and it disappeared as fast as it appeared. She raised the knife and thrusted down again, but the same thing happened. The knife stopped just before hitting Emma. It was like there was an invisible force field surrounding Emma, preventing Regina from killing her. Again she plunged the knife down, and yet again she was unable to. It was physically unable to, like there was an invisible brick wall.

As Regina tried to regain her composure, she could feel herself sweating from exertion and rapidly weakening. She knew she was draining her last bits of magic, and already she could feel the spell she cast over Snow and others waning.

She took a deep breath. This was just a ruse. Nothing more. She was Regina, the evil queen, and if she wanted to kill someone, then by all means she could do it!

"Love. Is. Weakness!" She screeched as she thrusted the knife down one last time, harder than before. But the force from her knife bounced off the force field or whatever the hell it was surrounding Emma and she was blasted backwards.

"No. Love is strength." Emma realized as she shakily stood up. She seemed momentarily disoriented, but regained her composure quickly, advancing towards the confused Regina, who was huddled in a ball near the door.

As Emma neared her, the evil queen immediately stood up and they began to fight just like before. But this time, Emma was the strong one, and pretty soon she had Regina backed up inches from the portal.

"You know, I almost feel sorry for you, your majesty." Emma growled. "You're all alone. But then again, it's all your fault." In one hand, she held Regina's abandoned knife. "You deserve it." Emma said quietly as she toyed with the knife, aiming at the evil queen's heart. "But like I was told before," She looked up and looked at Graham, who was still frozen with a look of horror transfixed to his face. "You're not worth it." She shoved Regina into the still open portal with one hand, and dropped the knife in after her.

**Author's note: Ding dong the witch is dead! Well not dead but sucked into a portal. Whatever. Same diff. Review! **


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The spell was broken. Everyone sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Emma sank against the wall, unable to take her eyes off the spot on the floor where the portal had once been. Now all that sat on the circle of floor was a tattered black hat, a hat not unlike the one Jefferson had forced her to make at gunpoint not too long ago. She couldn't believe that Regina was really, truly gone.

"You did it." Her parents ensconced her in a tight hug with Henry in the middle, while Jefferson collected his hat and strode out the door, announcing that he was going to go burn it. Graham stood awkwardly off to the side, twiddling his thumbs.

"Where did she go?" Henry's voice was muffled against her leather jacket.

"I don't know, kid." Emma answered. "But she's gone."

Emma sank into the tight embraces of her family, allowing herself to finally relax. While she was slightly ticked off that they'd gone behind her back and placed Henry in danger, she was so grateful to them for at least trying to take revenge. Nobody had ever done that for her before. (And unlike Graham, they hadn't promised not to do so).

After about an eternity, they finally released her, backing up. Her parents seemed to sense that she needed some privacy, so they took Henry by the hand and announced that they were going to go help Jefferson take care of the hat.

So that just left Emma and Graham. He just stared at her, seemingly trying to come up with a way to start talking, while she just picked at her nails. It was weird how just yesterday they'd been unable to leave her bed and now they stood three feet apart, not talking. The distance between them might as well have been a chasm.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Emma said finally. She placed her hands on her hips and regarded him.

Graham was clearly at a loss for words as he grappled for something to say. "I, well, you see…"

Emma just stared at him. "I'm waiting."

"I'm sorry." He blurted. "You made me promise not to take revenge, but I couldn't just live with what Regina tried to do you."

"A promise that you _broke_." Emma retorted. "You know that's the thing I hate most. It was the one thing my foster parents kept doing. Promising to take me to the zoo, to stop beating, to love me like…" She looked away, close to tears. "You _knew_ that." Her voice was a mere whisper. "And yet you still went behind my back."

"I know. And I'm so sorry, Emma."

But Emma ignored him. "Broken promises do not a relationship make. How do I know that's not what you've been doing all along? That that's what you're gonna do from now on?"

Graham crossed the room towards her in two steps. "Emma. I was just trying to protect you."

"I can't listen to this." Emma turned away from Graham. "I'm sorry."

"What are you doing?" He said. "Are you breaking up with me?"

Emma shrugged, a tear making its way down her pale cheek. "I guess."

"Emma…." He said in a broken voice. "Don't do this…"

She ignored him.

"I was just trying to save you…" His voice was desperate.

"And I told you before." She said, hardening again. "I can save myself. What I needed was an open, honest relationship with great guy, one who keeps his promises, and that's obviously not gonna be you."

**Author's note: mwahahahaha you really hate me now don't ya? review for next ch! the faster you review the faster i update. **


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Two weeks. That's how long it'd been since Regina was sucked into the portal. Since then, they'd tied up loose ends, telling everyone in Storybrooke that Regina had simply moved away, and James had taken over as mayor. They figured it'd be easier than telling the truth. The truth that magic still existed.

Graham had officially resigned as deputy, simply leaving his letter of resignation on Emma's desk the very next morning after Regina was gone. Without him ever telling her, Emma knew that their breakup was the cause of this, for she knew that he loved his job and would never give it up for anything. So this was yet another thing Emma had to be guilty about. After Graham quit, he pretty much vanished from town, only showing up occasionally at Granny's, always nursing a beer. She knew that she'd pretty much ruined his life.

But what other choice had she had? The idea of staying with him scared her to the core. She couldn't even fathom the thought of staying with him after he'd broken his promise. Yes, he'd done it to save her, but that wasn't the point here. All that mattered was that he'd lied, gone behind her back even after she'd explicitly told him otherwise. It was her biggest pet peeve. No, even worse than that. It was the whole reason why she had so much trouble trusting people. After more than twenty years of living with people who had no trouble going back on their promises, it was something that she just couldn't handle.

Her mother had briefly mentioned that maybe Emma had so harshly dumped Graham because she was afraid to get close to someone again (yes, she'd told her parents about Neal), but Emma quickly dismissed that thought. It was just ridiculous. There was no way that was true. She refused to even consider it.

~The New Normal~

Graham stared morosely at his fifth? Sixth? Or maybe seventh bottle of beer of the day, and it was only noon. He knew that ever since the breakup, his life had been going downhill at an alarmingly fast pace. But it was like trying a snowball from sliding down a hill-it was impossible to stop. He barely got out of bed anymore, leaving only to go to the bathroom and, of course, drink.

He wondered why he was so crushed about their breakup. If you really thought about it, Emma wasn't worth the trouble. He'd opened himself to her multiple times, yet she'd rejected him just as many times. The worst part was that he'd made good progress after the attack, but getting revenge on Regina had erased their budding relationship. Either she was totally screwed up and had trust issues, or she really didn't love him, and the time they'd spent together in the hospital was nothing more than a ruse. But that didn't change the way Graham felt about her. He'd loved her since the very first moment he'd seen her that first night in Regina's house when she was bringing Henry home. When he'd hatched the revenge plan against Regina, he'd created it with the full knowledge that Emma would be furious if she found out, but he had to go through with it anyway. Just the mere idea of Regina getting away with attempted murder and still at large, ready to strike at any moment made him burn with rage. It'd killed him that she'd used his body to hurt the woman he loved, and he knew he had to do everything in his power to prevent that from ever happening again.

At least she was safe. Even though getting rid of Regina killed their relationship, maybe it was all worth it, for it ensured Emma's safety. Now all he had to do was get himself to believe that.

~The New Normal~

For the seventeenth time that day, Emma caught herself staring at what used to be Graham's desk. She sighed, taking off her reading glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. She was the one who'd broken up with him, so why did she feel so terrible? Everyone in Storybrooke had adjusted to this new normal, a life without that bitch crap of a mayor, so why hadn't she? Everything should've been perfect by now. She had a wonderful family and her biggest enemy was gone.

Just then, she heard footsteps enter her office. "Hey, Mom."

Henry's use of the word mom warmed her immediately. "Hey, kid. Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Short day on Wednesday's, remember?" Henry reminded her. Then, seeing his mother with her head in her hands, he immediately became concerned. "Are you ok?"

Emma looked up. "What? Yeah. I'm fine."

"You miss Graham, don't you?" Henry gave her that knowing look. It was so eerily similar to the look May Margaret gave her when she knew Emma was lying.

"No." But it was beyond obvious that she was lying.

"Yes, you do." Henry said. "Just admit it. You love him and you wish you hadn't broken up with him. So get back together already." He urged.

Emma fought the urge to cry. "It's not that simple, kid."

"Yes, it is." Henry was stubborn as hell. Probably got it from her.

"Henry." Emma's voice took on a warning tone.

But he ignored her. "Come on. You're gonna have to learn how to trust people eventually."

"I do trust people." She argued.

"But not enough."

Emma rolled her eyes. Why was she having this discussion with her ten year old son? "Henry, you should go. I have a lot of stuff to do." She put her glasses back on and grabbed a pen.

"You're gonna get back together." Henry said over his shoulder as he left, a cheeky grin on his face.

**Author's note: Does that mean what I think it means :P to find out, REVIEW! I'm not updating till I get a lot! More reviews=faster update **


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I really appreciate them cuz they let me know if you're liking the story and how to improve**

Chapter 32 (several weeks later)

Slowly, Emma began to adapt to her life post Regina. To her life without Graham. She'd hired Ruby to be her deputy, which made being at the station a hell of a lot less lonely. At the very least, it kept her from staring listlessly at Graham's former desk.

At first, everyone had bugged her about getting back together with Graham, saying how cute they'd looked together and such. But they'd finally dropped the subject. It also helped that Graham had practically disappeared from. Out of sight, out of mind.

One day, she and Ruby were eating at Granny's (on the house because what, Granny was gonna charge her own granddaughter?), when suddenly the door opened and in walked Graham, hand in hand with some girl.

Emma immediately sized her up, mentally labeling her as nothing more than a bitchy blonde bimbo. Graham's date wore a black miniskirt, black fishnets, and a black tank top that left nothing to the imagination. Emma already hated her. Who did this bitch think she was, marching around with her double D's and clutching Graham's hand in her meaty hand?

What hurt most of all was Graham's easy smile as he led his date to the best booth in the place, the booth that happened to be _their_ booth, the one they sat in every time they came here. He looked good. Great, even. He'd shaved for the first time in weeks and it looked like he'd even put on some muscle.

"Emma?" Ruby waved her fork in front of the sheriff's face. Then, she noticed what Emma was looking at and whistled. "Wow. Was not expecting that." She hid a laugh behind her napkin, but thankfully Emma didn't notice.

"What?" Emma snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry."

"Looks like Graham got himself a new girlfriend, huh?" Ruby commented, thoroughly enjoying the look of anger on the sheriff's face. "That was fast."

"Whatever." Emma shrugged. "We're over, so he can do whatever he wants with whomever he wants." She sized up that girl again. "Even if she looks like a fucking hooker."

~The New Normal~

From behind his menu, Graham peeked at Emma again. She looked angry. Good. Under the table, he fired off a text to Henry, informing that all was going according to plan. His phone quickly vibrated back with Henry's reply, which simply said: FLIRT!

Graham chuckled as he put his phone away. Looking up at Marcie/Macey/whatever her name was, he smiled in what he hoped was a convincing manner.

"So, um, Marcie," He began awkwardly. God, this flirting thing was much harder than he remembered. Talking to Emma had been so natural. "What looks good here?"

"My name's Bobbi." The girl said. Where had he gotten Marcie/Macey from? She lowered her voice. "Look, if we're gonna do this, at least get my name right."

Graham nodded. He was glad that Henry had found someone who was so willing to go along with this. "Right, um, sorry." His phone vibrated with another text, which read: Relax! You're on a date!

"You'll have to make it up to me later." Bobbi purred, leaning forward and giving him a free show of her double D's.

Graham smiled, but it felt more like a painful grimace. "We'll see about that."

"So, what looks good here?" Bobbi pretended to read the menu. When Graham said nothing, she kicked him under the table and gave him a LOOK to indicate what he was supposed to say next.

"You." Graham flashed his irresistible grin, the one that always made Emma melt, and he could feel his heart breaking a little. He saw Bobbi flash him a surreptitious thumbs up.

"You have the sexiest hairrrr…." Bobbi reached over and started to comb through his brown locks. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Emma visibly stiffen.

Suddenly, there was the loud scrap of a chair against a tiled floor, and he looked up to see Emma push her chair back and stalk out, Ruby at her heels.

He leaned back and breathed out heavily. "Well I'm glad that's over. Thanks." He said to the younger girl.

"No problem." Bobbi said. "I needed money for a new car, and you needed to make your ex jealous. Which by the way, I think we succeeded. It's a win-win." She stood up. "Pleasure doing business with you, Huntsman." She winked as she sauntered out.

A win-win. Judging by the way Emma had stormed out, he supposed that Bobbi was right. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to do this too many more times.

~The New Normal~

Over the next several days, Graham and Bobbi were seen everywhere. At the movies, making out on the streets, and of course at Granny's. Basically anywhere where they'd be seen by Emma. It broke Graham's heart whenever he saw Emma during one of his "dates" with Bobbi. He knew that it wouldn't exactly be a pleasant experience to see one's ex hooking up with some slut on the street.

But Henry was adamant that he continue to "date" Bobbi for at least another week before step 2 of his grand plan to win Emma back. Henry insisted that this was working, but Graham had yet to see otherwise. He kind of wished he hadn't consulted Henry, his ex's ten year old son of all people, to help him win Emma back, but it was too late to turn back now.

One day, Graham was at the grocery store, stocking up on things. His arms were piled high with groceries, blocking his vision, when suddenly he ran straight into someone, causing him to drop everything onto the floor in a huge pile.

He bent down to pick them up, mumbling an apology, and the other person did too. As he gathered his packages into his arms, he noticed their familiar black boots. Uh-oh. He stood up quickly, hoping to get away before she noticed that it was him.

No such luck, of course.

"Oh. It's you." Emma looked as if she'd swallowed something sour. She looked around, seemingly searching for something. "Where's your _girlfriend?_" She sneered nastily.

Graham knew that this was the exact reaction they'd been looking for, the proof that their little plan was working. But it didn't stop the little dive in his stomach when he saw the way Emma looked at him.

"Home." He gulped, anticipating her reaction. He'd made it sound like they were living together. Sure enough, Emma suddenly looked as if she was gonna puke.

"Home?" She repeated snarkily. "Good to know that while we were dating, you never bothered me to show me your place."

Graham opened his mouth to argue that he _had _wanted to show her his apartment, but it was far too messy and he didn't want to scare her away. In his old life as the Huntsman, he was used to the messiness of nature, so naturally his apartment reflected that. It was also far too dark, lonely, and quiet.

"Great. Don't say anything." Emma deadpanned. "What do you see in her anyway? It's not like she's your type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Graham couldn't keep the defensiveness from creeping into his voice. Although Bobbi was nothing more than a fake girlfriend (she was 18!), she was a genuinely nice person.

"You know exactly what I mean." Emma crossed her arms over her chest.

"She's everything you're not." It was exactly the right and wrong thing to say.

"Oh, you're right then. She's an airhead. A blonde bitch bimbo. Things I'll never be." Emma snapped angrily.

"And why do you care?" Graham retorted. He knew it was what Henry would want him to say, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Emma scoffed. It was obvious that he'd broken her down. "You're right. I don't care." She grabbed her box of cereal off the floor. "Enjoy each other." She stalked off, but then turned around. "You know, I don't even know why I fell for you in the first place. I thought you were honest. That you had morals. You're sleeping with a teenager, and you don't even care. You disgust me."

~The New Normal~

Emma collapsed against the brick wall outside of the store, overcome with tears. She cried so hard she could barely see three feet in front of her. She'd thought she was over Graham, but that was obviously far from true. Just the mere sight of Graham with that bitch made her chest ache in a way that had nothing to do with getting shot. She couldn't stand to see them together, to see his hand clasped in hers and that happy, dazed smile on his face. A smile that she thought only she could bring to his face.

She missed the way he brushed the hair out of her face, the way his adorable accent made everything he said sound ten times better, the way she'd look up while working and see his gaze fixed on her, a gaze filled with pure love and adoration. Above all, she missed the way he made her feel when she was with him, like nothing could go wrong and the world was perfect.

Emma knew that she'd brought this on herself. Graham had given her so many chances, yet each time she'd screwed it up. She knew he'd crawl to the ends of the Earth for her, but all she'd done was reject him. She so hadn't deserved him. And now he was with someone else, someone who was ten times better than her, regardless of how she dressed. Graham had been right. Bobbi _was _everything she wasn't. At the very least, she deserved Graham.

Soon, Emma was out of tears. She just sat with her back to the wall, staring numbly at a tree across the street. She knew that people passing by must have thought she was crazy, but who cared?

Just then, someone stepped up in front of her. "Emma?" It was Mary Margaret.

Her mother's voice made her start crying again. Like a true mother, Mary Margaret immediately sat down and placed her arms around her daughter, letting her cry into her shoulder, rubbing her arms soothingly. The gentle treatment just made her cry harder. She didn't deserve anyone's niceness.

"You saw Graham, didn't you?" Mary Margaret said. Emma just nodded, unable to speak. Instead, she just laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

"He's with some blonde bimbo." Emma muttered, sounding very much like a pouty six year old.

Her mother sighed. "I know. It's kinda hard to miss. They're a sight for sore eyes." She said, earning a small chuckle from Emma.

"I just can't stand to see them together." Emma sat up straight. "I mean, what does he see in her?"

"You know something about Graham?" Her mother asked. "He sees the good in people. I mean, when you first arrived in town, you weren't exactly emanating very welcoming vibes. Yet he still sought you out, going above and beyond to be nice. He offered you a job despite your little experience with being a deputy and endured Regina's wrath, even refusing to arrest you. He saw through your walls to who you really were. And not many people have done that."

Emma nodded. She had a point.

"So maybe Graham sees something in Bobbi that no one else sees." Mary Margaret continued. "But that's not what's bugging you, is it?"

Dear God, it was amazing how well Mary Margaret knew her. "Yes, it is." Emma said a bit too forcefully. They were _not _about to go there.

"No it's not." Her mother gave her that look, the look that meant she knew Emma was lying. When she saw that Emma was staying mum, she sighed.

"Ok. Here's what I think's going on," Mary Margaret began. "You're not sad that Graham's dating someone else. I mean, you are, but that's not the main reason. You're mad. Mad at yourself for letting him go. For not opening up to him."

Although Emma knew that these words were true, she couldn't help but argue back. "I broke up with him because he broke his promise. And I can't stand people who break promises."

"He broke a promise that saved your life." Mary Margaret pointed out.

"Still." Emma said stubbornly. "He _promised_. He knew that I hated being lied to. If he can't honor that then I can't be with him. He obviously didn't love me enough to tell me the fucking truth."

"Oh, Emma." Mary Margaret started to comb through her daughter's tangled blonde tresses. "I think deep inside you knew Graham loved you. That's why he lied. To protect you. Do you know how bad he felt after the attack?"

"It wasn't his fault." Emma scoffed.

"Yes, but he still felt responsible." Mary Margaret continued softly. "Emma. You need to learn how to trust people. That's what this is about. You're afraid to let him in. You're scared that once you do, he'll leave you. Just like everyone else."

She continued. "Emma. You need to trust that Graham's not going to leave. He's not Neal. He loves you more than anything."

Emma bristled at the sound of Neal's name, but she said nothing. She started to cry again, basically confirming that everything her mother said was true. It was such a raw, vulnerable moment, so unlike her usual strong persona. She buried her head in her mother's shoulder and cried for what seemed like an eternity.

"I'm really screwed up, aren't I?" Emma laughed ruefully.

Mary Margaret looked sadly at her daughter. "Yes, you are." She said softly. "I suppose I'm to blame for that, aren't I?" She sighed. "If I hadn't forced your father to put you through the wardrobe, then you wouldn't have ended up in foster care."

"Ok, seriously?" Emma rolled her eyes. "We are _not_ gonna go there."

Mary Margaret nodded. "Listen. The only way you're gonna feel better is if you go and tell Graham the truth."

Emma looked horrified. "Um no thanks."

"I know confronting your feelings isn't exactly your best skill, but you can do it." You need to. Unless you wanna go around crying outside grocery stores for the rest of your life. Think about it this way. What do you have to lose?"

Emma thought over those last words. Her mother was right. What _did _she have to lose? Worst case possible, Graham would laugh in her face and slam the door. But that was nothing worse than the physical and mental abuse she'd dealt with before. And if he didn't slam the door, well then….

"You're right." Emma stood up. "Wish me luck."

~The New Normal~

Graham sank against the wall of his apartment. His groceries lay in a messy pile on the floor, but he didn't really care. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Emma. Emma's blue eyes, her blonde curls, and her beautiful smile that lit up the room. But above all, he saw the look of pure disgust she'd given him as she stalked out of the store. The stunned, hurt, gut wrenching feeling he saw in her eyes every time he was on a "date" with Bobbi.

It made him feel so guilty that he was responsible for her pain. This time, it was nobody's fault but his. No one told him to listen to a ten year old for advice. Henry had said that eventually she'd grow so jealous she'd come running back to him. But this plan had the opposite effect. It made Emma hate him even more.

_No. _Graham decided. _No more of this immaturity. _It was time to move on to Phase 2 of their grand master plan: beg for forgiveness.

**Author's note: Yes, I do realize that the whole fake girlfriend thing is kinda stupid. But remember, Graham was taking advice from a ten year old. Since when do ten year olds have exceptional amounts of knowledge on relationships? Review for next ch! **


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's note: Last ch! But don't cry. It's not attractive. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It really means a lot! **

Chapter 33

From the second Emma left Snow at the grocery store to when she was about halfway to Graham's, her heart hadn't stopped pounding. Her pulse thumped loudly in her ears with every step she took. Her head swam and she felt herself gasping for breath. She knew she looked like an awful mess, with her tear stained cheeks and messy hair, but knew that if she'd gone back home to shower and fix her appearance, she'd wimp out. No, it was better to get this over with. Besides, she wasn't one to care about her appearance, so why start now? There was no way she'd even measure up to Graham's drop dead gorgeous blonde bitch bimbo girlfriend.

As she walked down the street (she'd left her car at the store so she'd have time to think collect her thoughts), she went over her script again. Basically, she was going to tell him the truth. The truth about why she'd broken up with him. She knew that it wasn't gonna change anything, based on the way he looked at Bobbi, but to hell with that. This was about clearing her conscience.

She had to come to terms with the fact that Graham no longer loved her.

~The New Normal~

Graham shut the door to his apartment behind him. His hands were shaking so badly he was afraid he'd drop his keys. He decided to walk to Emma's, for it would give him time to collect himself. He also wanted to stop by the grocery store again and buy some flowers. Yes, it was a tad cheesy, but he knew Emma well enough to know that she loved huge romantic gestures, despite operating under the guise that she was above all that.

His heart pounded loudly in his ears, so fast he was afraid he'd have a heart attack. He couldn't remember the last time he was this nervous. He knew that Emma would probably spit in his face and slam the door. That this probably wouldn't change anything between them. But then again, what did he have to lose? At the very least, he'd be clearing his conscience.

~The New Normal~

As Emma got closer to Graham's, she felt like she was about to pass out. She'd never been this nervous before. The very idea of rejection gripped her heart and nearly paralyzed her with fear. She was so nauseous it wasn't even funny.

~The New Normal~

Graham walked down the street, the flowers he'd just bought clutched in his sweaty grip. He was so scared and nervous he could barely see three feet in front of him.

~The New Normal~

Emma was gasping for breath as she kept walking, forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other. Her head spun and her vision swam as she continued to walk, hardly able to see anything in front of her.

Then, she slammed into someone. Hard. Their heads collided painfully, and they both stepped backwards, cursing and rubbing their heads.

"Uggh…" The other person groaned.

Suddenly, Emma froze up. She knew that voice. Shit.

Graham looked at her. The corner of his mouth curled up. "We've got to stop meeting like this." He said awkwardly, in an attempt to be nice.

There was a tense silence.

_Just say something!_ Emma said as she rocked back and forth on her heels. _Stop staring at him like an idiot!_

_Do it! _Graham urged himself. _She's gonna think you're nuts!_

"I need to tell you…" Emma started, but at the same time Graham said, "I have something to…"

They both stopped. "You go first." Graham offered.

Emma nodded. "Right." She rocked back and forth some more, contemplating what to say. _Oh for the love of God, just say it already! _

"I'm sorry." She blurted. "For everything. You, you were nothing but nice to me, and I completely fucked everything up."

Graham started to say something, but Emma held up her hand to stop him. "No. I need to say this."

She kept going. "I was mad that you broke your promise." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Graham nod in agreement. "But that wasn't the reason I broke up with you."

Emma could see that Graham looked intrigued as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I-I broke up with you because I was afraid. Afraid that you'd leave me." She rambled on. "God knows I'm screwed up." She laughed ruefully. "All my life, it was full of broken promises. My foster parents promised me many, many things. And subsequently each promise was broken."

Graham didn't say anything, but he kept watching her. Listening to her ramble on and reveal her life story.

"And that's not all. You once asked if I was ever in love. I said no. But that wasn't the truth. I _was _in love before, with Henry's father. Neal." Emma winced at the memory. "Long story short, he left me. Told me he loved me one day and left the next. And I've never been able to get over that, no matter how hard I try."

"I-I should've known that you'd never leave." Her voice cracked as she felt a tear slipping out of the corner of her eye. "An-and now it's too late, cuz you're with _her_. I've fucked everything up, and, and you don't…" Emma was cut off by Graham, who suddenly closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. Instantly, she leaned into him, thoroughly enjoying his woodsy scent and the feel of his hands on her back.

"Don't love me anymore…." Emma finished as they broke apart after the most blissful thirty seconds of her life. She just stared at him in confusion. "What?" She breathed.

"I never stopped loving you." Graham said simply as he tenderly stroked her cheek, wiping away a few stray tears.

Emma could feel her insides flooding with joy at the sound of his words. All she wanted to do was kiss him some more, but something stopped her.

"What about Bobbi?" God, she hated the sound of her name.

"Who?" Graham looked confused.

"Your girlfriend." Emma said slowly. Was he crazy? "The blonde bitch bimbo."

"Oh! Right." Graham started laughing.

_What the hell was so funny? _"Huh?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Wait. What?"

Graham explained about Henry and their plan, and by the time he finished, Emma was half amused and half pissed. Who asked a ten year old for relationship advice?

"Y-you jerk!" She smacked his arm. "Do you know how that made me feel? I broke down crying in front of a grocery store!"

But Graham just looked amused. "That was kind of the point. And it worked, didn't it?"

"Yes, b-but…" Emma was at a loss for words. "God!"

"I know. And I'm sorry." Graham said. "That's what I was doing. Going over to your place to apologize." For the first time, Emma saw that he held a large bouquet of roses in one hand. "Listen, Emma." He clasped her hand in his. "I would never leave you. I love you so much."

A huge grin slowly made its way across her face. "I love you too." Emma knew she wouldn't be able to stop smiling even if she tried.

They kissed again, slowly, tenderly. The whole world melted away as they just stood there in each other's embrace. Graham dropped the bouquet he was holding, but they didn't seem to care as they just enjoyed being with each other.

Then, Emma pulled away. Graham could see a worried look in her eyes.

"I came to tell you something else." She said.

"What's that?"

Emma looked away, biting her lip nervously.

"Just tell me."

There was a long silence.

"Emma." Graham urged. "Whatever it is, we'll work it out."

There was another terse silence, which was broken by two words that would forever stay ingrained in Graham's mind and change his life for good.

"I'm pregnant."

**Author's note: Y'all know how I love cliffhangers! Anyway, yes this is the end of The New Normal. I decided to leave it with an open ending so you can imagine what'll happen next. And who knows? If I get enough requests, I might even post an epilogue. Or maybe a sequel. Who knows? So PLEASE REVIEW!**


	34. Epilogue

**Author's note: Due to the overwhelming number of requests, I've decided to write an epilogue. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. It was so funny reading everyone's reactions to the last ch. **

Epilogue

Regina looked dazedly around. Where in the hell was she? The last thing she remembered was that goddamn bitch Emma shoving her into the hat, a flash of swirly purple, glimpses of what appeared to be other realms (was one of them all black and white?), and then nothing. Until now. Blinking, she took in her surroundings. She quickly realized that she was bound to the back of a horse, which was connected to another horse. The horse in front of hers carried two women: a tough looking Asian warrior and a sad looking brunette who looked very familiar. Regina realized that it was Aurora, someone Maleficent had bitched about back when they were friends.

Her instincts told her to stay quiet and keep pretending to be unconscious. She closed her eyes, straining to hear bits of their muttered conversation.

"…don't know who she is." The Asian warrior was saying. Regina could sense that she kept looking back at her, as if to make sure that Regina didn't try to attack them.

"Her clothes are so strange." Aurora commented, looking back as well.

As she listened further, she learned that the Asian was named Mulan, and they were headed someplace that Mulan described as camp. From what she discerned from behind her semi shut lids, she guessed that they were back in the Enchanted Forest, in an area that she guessed had been untouched by her curse 28 years ago. It seemed a bit strange, but she supposed it made sense. After all, not all the other realms had been brought over to Storybrooke; only certain people from other realms (such as Whale/Frankenstein) of her choosing had been sent to Storybrooke.

They came to a jarring stop. Regina could feel someone release her from the horse and drag her body down a path. God, they could at least be a little gentler! She had to resist the urge to attack them. She reminded herself that she didn't have magic anymore, and judging by the sheer loudness of the voices and footsteps around her, she was way outnumbered. Regina knew she had to stay quiet in order to gather information to plan her way back to Storybrooke. There was no way she'd let Emma and the two idiots win.

She was tossed into what felt like a hole, due to the coolness of the air around her. Waiting until everything was quiet, she slowly opened her eyes. As she'd expected, she was in some sort of hole that resembled an underground prison. Great. She was stuck in a fucked up version of the Enchanted Forest, completely vulnerable. Things could just not get any worse. Oh wait, they could, for it was freezing in here.

For what felt like several days (but was probably only a couple hours), Regina huddled in a ball in the corner of the cell. The only thing that kept her going was the prospect of revenge. Revenge on Emma. Unlike her previous attempts, she would not fail this time. She was the Evil Queen, dammit, and she was going to succeed.

Just then, she heard soft footsteps off to the side. Regina scrambled to her feet and pressed her back against the wall.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called, hating the way her voice shook.

The footsteps came closer and closer. Regina's heart started to pound. She was weaponless and had no way of defending herself. Yes, she'd managed to (briefly) overpower Emma, but that was only because the Sheriff was much smaller. For all she knew, this person could be the size of a pro-wrestler.

"Hello?" Regina called again. She squinted in the dark, trying to see who it was. Slowly, the person came into focus. In the dark, Regina could just barely make out their brown hair and flowing blue dress. Suddenly, with an audible gasp, she realized who it was.

"Mother?"

**Author's note: Yep, you know what this means! Sequel! Coming! Soon! Please review! **


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